Expectations vs. Reality
Family is one of the greatest treasures we have in our lives when the world is against us, the ones who stand with us, the ones that take care of you when you’re sick, and the ones that truly do love you in this world. As a child, I knew what my family was however, I was no more than a spectator at a play, watching this beautiful presentation with no knowledge of all the work that goes into creating it or everything involved in order to keep it going. So, my younger years are filled with amazing times with my family, these late nights of being on the deck of my grandparent’s home. All the adults drinking and speaking of adult things while the children are all in the pool having a grand time, with the biggest worry being
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It wasn’t until Thanksgiving 2014 that I began to see the picture of what my family now was. Should I even call it Thanksgiving? It was my core family and my grandfather. No aunts & uncles, no cousins. No kids table. Years prior, I’d have given anything to sit at the adult table with the adults. Now, I’d give anything to go and sit at that kids table once again.
Christmas came along and it was just my core family, no going over to 110 Maurice Ave. No listening to adults tell stories. No big Christmas dinner, all of that had gone away. All of it had moved on just like my Grandmother.
This summer was the final realization of my family being gone. My favorite aunt and cousins usually came down every summer in July as I have written of prior, this year however, her statement was “I have nothing left at 110 Maurice Avenue.” That hurt so much; it was reality, like a judge convicting my expectations with the sentence of realism. The true final realization was when my Grandfather sold the pool. That pool was the monument of our family. The huge piece of those summer nights from years ago. That pool was where the kids were, where I was. Now all that sits is a sand pit with a deck around it, a “modern ruin” of the way things were. A final knife in the heart of the things that will never again
For most people family is one of the most important parts of life. For they are the people who raised you and taught you things needed in life. For most of us we have a connection with are family that is unparallel in life, which is the reason for are undying love. At times though there is a point at which we take are family for granted like they will always be around. Parents might do things that are not agreed upon by the children, yet the parent thinks it is in the child's best interest. Sometimes it might not even be the best thing to do in that situation, yet parents have a true desire to protect their children from the dangers of the world. On the other hand, children do not always listen to the advice their parents give them and can get themselves into a lot of trouble. Anyway you look at it, most of the time we do not realize what we have until it is not longer with us. Many times we do take our family for granted and when one passes away there are many things we wish we could have said or done to show them are love. The play "Into The Woods," by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine is a direct example of how families treat each other. There is conflict ranging from hating sisters, to protective mothers and a disagreeing husband and wife. In the end lives are lost, family are in pain and those left realize that they need to treat their family better and hold on to the loved ones that they have. Families do encounter many difficult choices together, but they also must solve the problems together, and keep peace within the family, because bad choice will be regretted when those loved ones are not around longer.
In general knowledge, a family is a group consisting of blood relatives, living together as a unit. However, family has a much deeper meaning to me. Growing up in such a small Haitian community, I was always very close to all of my relatives, whether it was my siblings, cousins or aunts and uncles. I couldn’t imagine a world without them: they are the people who made me who I am today.
When I was younger, I remember feeling as though I lived in a bubble; my life was perfect. I had an extremely caring and compassionate mother, two older siblings to look out for me, a loving grandmother who would bake never ending sweets and more toys than any child could ever realistically play with. But as I grew up my world started to change. My sister developed asthma, my mother became sick with cancer and at the age of five, my disabled brother developed ear tumors and became deaf. As more and more problems were piled upon my single mother’s plate, I, the sweet, quiet, perfectly healthy child, was placed on the back burner. It was not as though my family did not love me; it was just that I was simply, not a priority.
As a child, family was very important to me. My parents made it very clear that the people in your family are the people that are going to be on your side for the rest of your life. My parents were young when they had me so they needed some extra help. Although they did everything in their power to make sure their work schedules were set so that somebody would always be at home to watch me, that just wasn 't always possible. When in doubt, my granny would always come through. I began to build a very strong bond with her being that she was one of my main care takers. Over the years my parents started to figure things out so they no longer needed grannies help. But this is not what I wanted. Instead of
The fleeting changes that often accompany seasonal transition are especially exasperated in a child’s mind, most notably when the cool crisp winds of fall signal the summer’s end approaching. The lazy routine I had adopted over several months spent frolicking in the cool blue chlorine soaked waters of my family’s bungalow colony pool gave way to changes far beyond the weather and textbooks. As the surrounding foliage changed in anticipation of colder months, so did my family. My mother’s stomach grew larger as she approached the final days of her pregnancy and in the closing hours of my eight’ summer my mother gently awoke me from the uncomfortable sleep of a long car ride to inform of a wonderful surprise. No longer would we be returning to the four-story walk up I inhabited for the majority of my young life. Instead of the pavement surrounding my former building, the final turn of our seemingly endless journey revealed the sprawling grass expanse of a baseball field directly across from an unfamiliar driveway sloping in front of the red brick walls that eventually came to be know as home.
When the word “family” is discussed, most people think of mothers, fathers, and other siblings. Some people think of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins and more on the pedigree tree. Without family in people's lives, they would not be the same people that they grew up to be today and in the future. When people hear the word family they think about, the ones who will help them in any way they can whether it’s money, support, advice, or anything to help them succeed in life. Family will forever be the backbone of support.
My most memorable Christmas is one from my past. I was about six years old. I clearly remember sitting in class on the last day of school before Christmas vacation anticipating the bell to ring and signify that the classes were finally over. As the bell rang, I ran out of that class, and once I got home I was ready in an instant to leave for my grandmother’s where I would spend my holidays. It was a two hour drive to my grandmother’s house. I was very impatient throughout the entire drive. I couldn’t wait to see my grandma, my cousin, and my aunts. To make things better, however, snow started to fall filling me with hopes of a snowball fight the next day.
Even though times get tough and family life can get stressful at times I know that I will always be welcome in my family. Each of the different experiences that I have do different things to make me feel more comfortable with my family. The road trips and driving in the car make me feel more comfortable around my family it lets me learn new things about them and get to know them better. Doing the same things as them make it much easier to relate to my family and if you can relate to someone then it makes you feel more comfortable and connected to them. The everyday things in life assure me that I have a place in my family and it shows me where that place is. I already feel very comfortable around my family but I know that as I continue living the course of my life I know that I will be able to feel even more comforted around them.
I don’t know where I’d be without my family. We’ve been through thick, and thin. I’m very glad that I have them for moral support, and can depend on them for advice. They’ve taught me almost everything I know about life, whether it’d be household chores, manners, morals, cooking, etc. I’m pleased to have a very caring family that would do anything for me. I feel safe and secure with them. They provide me with the basic necessities such as food, water, and a roof over my head. I would consider all of the things they provide me with as luxuries, because not everyone has a comfortable place to reside in, or food to eat. If I didn’t have these basic necessities, then it would be another thing I would have to stress about in life. I like to joke around with them a lot, and it brings a smile to my face when I see their reaction. Having a loving, and supportive family is what makes me
For my research topic I chose to write on the effects of expectation. The expectations of one’s family and one’s self can have a major influence on his/ her life. When some tries to live up to a high expectation it can cause the individual a great deal of stress. Therefore, the question the question I am researching is “Should family members- parents, grandparent, aunts or uncles- set high educational, relational, and moral expectations for their children?” In order to find information on this topic I acquired two articles from the University of South Carolina Library website. The first article is titled “High expectations for higher education perceptions of college and experiences of stress prior to and through college career.” This article
"Family is not an important thing. It's everything.” This remarkable quote by Michel J. Fox should be the definition of family. Family is everything, they are our motivation, the ones that will love us when others don’t, and are the ones who stick to each other as gum when times get tough. Families have the most robust connections alive. These ties are so solid, and deeply intact that they can do everything and anything. These links allow a family to influence, shape, impact, and change one’s life. The intimacy within the family sphere, shape all who are inside it, this cannot be changed, and well anything that comes from within the family cannot be changed. The family itself can control and change our views on society, influence how we view the family unit, and yet most of all impact our everyday choices. The family’s capacity of guidance can make such an abundant shift that can only be felt, and barely visible unless seen through strained eyes, that makes this connection even more inexplicable than love.
Most people today think that family is just being close and knowing each others past and secrets. When really, family means being there for someone when they really need you. Family is being able to pick up the phone and call someone at whatever time of the day, and them be there for you as soon as they hang up the phone. Times get rough and if they’re not there, then you shouldn’t consider them family. Without a family, who else would you have? Your family is seriously the only ones you can count on. You know that without a doubt your family will always be there right by your side during the good and bad times. They will never betray your trust, nor talk behind your back. No matter what, you will always have
What is a family? A family is two or more people consider themselves to be blood related, or related by marriage, or adoption. Our families are who we love. We as families look different in so many ways. A family’s caregiving unit might have a couple, a mother, a father, and children. A family could also be a single parent and child, a group of siblings, a small or large group of friends. A family defines itself in many different ways. Families are the foundation of how our society and how it works. It is how we come into the world and nurtured and given the tools that we need to go out into our world. We are both capable and healthy or not our families influence our lives either in a good way or a bad way. While families
Christmas was always a big event in our family. We always spent Christmas Eve with my father's family and Christmas Day with my mom's. There was always a lot of food and many gifts, but for the first four or five years of my life, I had no clue what we were celebrating. I really don't think I cared too much, being a young child caught up in all the excitement. And I had something to call it. Christmas. That's all I really needed until I stumbled upon a Christmas special on television entitled A Charlie Brown Christmas. I must have been four or five years old at the time, I can't remember for sure, but I don't think I had started kindergarten yet. But I know I was curled up in a Sesame Street sleeping bag in front of our old television set, one of the small older models instead of the giant entertainment centers like we have now.
In this discussion, I will be explaining how I define family. I will also include my immediate and extended family. I will also describe what family means to me, how mine differs from other families in my neighborhood, and also how they are similar. I will also describe my family’s ethnicity and how it may affect any of my family’s health. To me, a family is a group of people that are brought together by blood, adoption, or marriage.