What I Learned From My Family

This chapter in kinships, families, and descents has taught me a lot about other cultures and their family systems, but it also has opened my eyes to my own family and our interactions. Not only was I not aware that there were other kinship systems around the world, but I also learned the reasons behind my family’s interactions. I knew that I called my aunt my aunt because she was my dad’s sister. I did not know the implications of the word “aunt” or how the word would shape interactions and define roles. I knew that extended families were more important in other cultures than in my own, but I did not know that they were important to the extent of calling their mother’s sister “mother.” I will take what I learned from this chapter and apply it to my own family relations.
The last interaction that I had with a large group of my family was in July of this year. It was our annual family reunion. This family reunion was only with family on my dad’s side. My mom and dad are divorced, so my mom was not there. We have this reunion every year in July at Boeing Lake in Wichita. My grandpa m...