Personal Narrative: My Family Analysis

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I am the baby in a family of nine; I have four sisters ages 31, 38, 40, and 41 along with two brothers 23 and 39. My family moved to America from Liberia, Africa when I was 4 years old, we left Africa in 1997 to escape the impending civil war. Only my parents, five of my siblings and me were able to immigrate to the United States, my oldest sister stayed in Liberia with her two children because she was over the immigration age limit. My family and I were very fortunate when we came because my dad had two siblings already living in Austin, Texas and another in Dallas; they gave us a lot of emotional and financial support as well as helped us acclimate to life in the United States. Our first home in Austin was a small three bedroom apartment …show more content…

Eventually my parents were able to find a house in the same neighborhood as one of my aunts, in Southwest Austin. Our house was not big but it had a backyard and could accommodate 6 people once one of my sisters and my oldest brother got married and moved out. Living in a house with a backyard and a neighborhood with kids from school, really helped my brother and I make friends and adjust to our new surroundings. Being immigrants greatly influenced my family’s dynamics. When my parents immigrated to the U.S. they did not have very much besides the help of their friends and family who immigrated to the country before them; therefore, we have an unspoken theme that family always comes first. Our family theme plays a great part in the boundaries and roles that my parents set for my siblings and me. We were always expected to treat our older family members with respect, which meant waiting on them, giving up our rooms if we had a long term guest, and other tasks that showed respect. We also had to abide by those older family members rules and treat them as we would treat our parents. Although “family first” is a huge emphasis in my family system; my family is not open, meaning we keep our private information within our immediate family. Our boundaries were

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