I heard stories about my family since a very young age, however it was not until later in my teen years that they meant anything to me. With all of this knowledge about my family’s past I can continue on the family history. Since I was seven I have had to take care of the household and my little brother until my mom got home from work, this affected how I received my family stories because I was expected to mature early in life. Through this maturity I have been able to understand more and receive these life stories with more meaning. Even though they lived in Montana my grandparents were a huge part of my life from a very early age. This was until I was seven when we were traveling from Montana to Wisconsin and their car flipped. They passed
She lovingly kept pictures, letters, invitations, announcements, programs, and clippings in an old trunk. Whenever she would place a new piece of memorabilia in her trunk, we would sit, talk, and look through her treasures. I would look at the picture of her Grandmother Elvira and hear about what a warm, loving person she was and how each one of her sons named one of their daughters after her. I delighted in hearing about my outgoing, fun-loving grandfather (James Robert Jackson), what a great cook, he was, and how he would use every pot, pan, and dish in the kitchen preparing his delicious meals and desserts. I learned all about my mother’s unconventional maternal and paternal aunts, her uncles, and her cousins (legal names as well as nicknames). My mother made sure I learned each branch of the family tree and into which generation each person belonged. I could draw our family tree in my sleep. Whenever I traveled anywhere, I was given the names and phone numbers of family members and was told to contact them because they knew I was coming and expected to hear from me. Even though I am a quiet, shy person, I was always comfortable contacting my family, because I had grown up hearing all about
In the past couple years, I faced emotions of loneliness, worthlessness and even depression. I spent those years trying to figure out what was the cause of these serious emotions and one of the answers that I stumbled upon was when I finally talked to a therapist about dealing with my depression. The simple answer was the relationship with my family and the environment I was in; Figuring out what to do about it was the next giant leap. Throughout history, America has been known as an immigrant country that uses the phrase “The American Dream” over and over, but what is it really? “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (James Truslow
Why do family myths hold so much power over our individual lives and or family lives? In the Kennon family it holds a lot of power because people they have internalized and hold on to it for truth. One prime example of this is a myth that society has placed on African American people as a whole and one that the Kennon family has internalized and held on to. That myth is the poor black broken family, and as we all know “race is one of the most powerful determinants of a person’s life course, opportunity, and health status.” (Ocampo, 2005, p. 575) for generations the Kennon family has always just assumed, that they would be poor and uneducated, and that was all that was expected of them. When I asked my grandmother about this (Dorris Kennon please see Appendix) she said “it was just the way that we thought growing up, my mother
It was Christmas Eve and my grandparents had just arrived to be with us for the holidays. They always come over every year, it’s like a family tradition. We always watched The Polar Express that night, which is also a tradition we do. After that we usually make the cookies and get a glass of milk for Santa. Finally, we go to bed anxious for tomorrow. It was December 25th, Christmas morning, and I was twelve years old. I was so tired because it was seven o’clock in the morning. I couldn’t fall back asleep because I was so excited that it was Christmas. I crawled out of my bed and snuck into my brother’s room and woke him up. We watched tv in my brothers room until eight o’clock and then we rushed down the hall to the top of the stairs. We could
When people first glance at my family their jaw slightly drops and the question, “How many siblings do you have?” shortly follows.
While growing up, the external social cues were that women needed to be taken care of and that while a job was nice, the family should be the highest of importance in a woman’s life. That was not the dominant theme in my family narrative. A prevalent theme throughout the generations in my family is that women are independent to the point of being ruthless. In addition, marriage is not always forever is another theme that accompanies women are independent. Additionally, women were not always the primary caregiver for the family; men often contributed as caregivers to the children.
Imagine the word family it is a simple word, however it is also a powerful. The thought of family is definitely for every family is different. There are similarities based on the culture of a family. The basic nature of family is the same, it is a connection to another.
My neuclear family consists of my mother, father, older brother and twin sister. When raising us, my family did not follow the norms of masculinity or femininity, but was based on an egalitarian relationship. Gender roles were not taught at all in fact, throughout my extended family, males and females are treated the same. The divisions of labor, or separation of tasks, in our household are separated throughout the children, my sister, brother and I. Each of us have different chores to take care of around the house. For example, we have a chore chart and my parents assigned us different chores for the day. Me and my sister do most of the laundry and each individual person has to clean up their own rooms and bathrooms. The power relationships vary among my parents. My dad has all the power financially and my mom has the power of influence. They're weren't any power struggles within the family.
To go into every minute detail that separates three generations would require a multi-volume set of books, so for the sake of time I will focus on a few major aspects. The first thing that comes to mind is technology. In the last century life has been dramatically altered by major technological advancements. From communication, to transportation, to medicine, nearly every facet of life has evolved in the last century. I grew up in a much different world than my parents, grandparents and especially great grandparents.
Everyone seems to define family differently, however, the significance of family is the same. For you, family means everything. You can always count on your parents and siblings for help and love. Family is very valuable and important to you and should never be taken for granted. No one can deny that family is the foundation of our generation. A family is where we all start our life journey and helps us grow to be successful throughout our lives.
The birds were singing. The sheep were bleating. The voice of playing kids was evident. The morning sun was already walking high in the sky. My grandfather’s village was in the rhythm of a vibrant life. This is despite that the village was under the control of the insurgents, who could come over and ask for food. They needed it so that they could go to the battlefields: my hometown. It was then required for the village to supply the insurgents with food on the fourth Saturday of each month. Some of those who did not comply were retaliated. But the people of my grandfather’s village learned to cope with those new circumstances. It was tough for everyone.
There are many things to love in life. Family and friends, pets and even hobbies can be loved. While I personally believe that love is a very strong word, I do have things I love. Please join me in learning more about myself as I explain why family and friends have a special place in my heart.
After writing about my history and the themes I selected, I have learned a lot about who I am in society. I have realized that I am an average girl that has not experienced much of life. During this analysis I have come to realize I have not had much contact with other family types or other cultures.
"The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you." -Kendall Hailey. Many people among us think that a family reunion is boring. It is an unpleasant social affair where our parents drive us to go and stay there for a considerable length of time. There are odd individuals who come to us and kiss or embrace us while we are still considering "do I know him/her?”. It is because we believe that enjoying the holiday out with friends is much better than investing hours with the people, we “unfortunately” belong to. They have no other subject for discussion aside from our studies and grades. On the other hand, family gathering is always a new experience for someone who lives far away from his blood relations.
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.