1. Choose one of the activities you listed in the "Activities, Awards, and Interests" section of the application and describe your participation in depth. What difference has it made in your life and in the lives of others? The veins in my forearms bulge, shoulders sear, and hands strangle the paddle as it breaks the water’s smooth seal submerging into the depths of the lake. My kayak is a refuge, a place where the external world of deadlines, destruction, and distress are irrelevant. It’s a place to reflect and clear the mind and soul of hardship. There is a euphoric release as the repetitive motion of swaying and rowing formulates new perspectives. I accredit this to be the source of many of my greatest decisions, the birthplace of proactivity, and founder of my motivation. Kayaking is immersive. It incorporates the entire body as one glides over the water, pushing every muscle to its limits with each stroke of the journey. Many people assume kayaking is effortless and little actually goes into the movement. There is no limitation to how far you can paddle, therefore the goal is up to you; you decide your boundaries. I enjoy kayaking with my closest friends and love sharing the experience of this unique passion. I explain to them the connection between kayaking and life itself; it’s rather painless to go through the motions, but the greatest triumphs come with the most difficult of journeys, pushing one’s self to the limits. Kayaking also embodies pursuit and persistence, the two words that have shaped my life in many ways. They have inspired me to pursue opportunities that may have seemed out of reach and persist in accomplishing them, no matter the odds. In the 21st Century, the United States is home to many different types of family structures. Please describe your immediate family, noting its unique or traditional elements. How do you contribute to your family 's
...Many Kinds of Family Structures in Our Communities." . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014. .
Describe any characteristics of your family or your community that have been important to your personal development. 2000 Characters or ¼ page
As we have learned through Skolnick’s book, as well as Rubin’s research, the make up of the family is influenced by many factors. The economy, culture, education, ethnicity/race, and tradition all help to create the modern family. The last few decades have heavily influenced the family structure, and while some try to preserve the past, others embrace the future. Through it all, we find you can have both.
“Christmas must be crazy.” This is the traditional comment that I have received time and time again for my remarkably nontraditional family, which consists of five stepbrothers, one stepsister, two half-sisters, my little brother, my stepmother and father, my mother and her fiancee (with his own set of children!) as well as the legions of extended family and my host family in Ecuador, not including the numerous friends on campus and elsewhere who affectionately refer to me as 'Mom', 'Mother', or 'Momma', and who are considered practically family by this point. However, Christmas still goes quite smoothly, and I must ask: Is my rather large, rough family circle really that atypical of modern American society? The NYT issue of Science Times titled “The Changing American Family” by Natalie Angier asserts that our family structure is indeed changing, and we as Americans no longer subscribe to the traditional nuclear family modeled by shows such as Leave it to Beaver or the “blended” but still idealized model of The Brady Bunch. And, when we examine America's families, we find that the shift is happening not only from decade to decade, but constantly, especially with the passing of new laws and new understandings surrounding human rights and identities.
Times have changed since our parents were children and families today face different challenges than those of a decade or two ago. Over the past few decades the concept of family has been revolutionized. A "traditional" family no longer consists of two parents of the opposite sex in which the father is the "breadwinner," and the mother stays at home to raise the children. Today's family is as diverse as the world it must exist in. The important thing about today's family is that success does not just happen; a strong family takes effort.
A family might include anyone related by blood or by adoption such as: step parents, grandparents acting as parents, and even brothers and sisters sharing the same household. However, worldwide “the family is regarded as the most ba...
Determining family structure and dynamics as well as defining the family is a complex process. Personally, I come from a very traditional family. Much like the assumptions made by the students in the article Defining Family: Young Adults’ Perceptions of the Parent-Child Bond by Mellisa Holtzman (2008). This is what comes to mind when most people define family; a nuclear family, with married parents, and biological children. However, a family is a complex system and can take on many different forms.
The modern family is a very complex organism. It has become evident that not everyone considers family to be the same thing. As illustrated, there are at least seven different variations of families, and only five of them are recognized as such. Not surprisingly, 99% of people consider a married couple with children as an ideal family (Penn). Some focus solely on their nuclear family, some readily claim their extended family, and some even claim others who are like them, but not necessarily biologically related. Many people gravitate towards the idea of a self-based and centered family, fueled by an independent streak. Others have learned that strangers can be more accepting of them than those who are supposed to be kin to them. However, this is not to say that even others still do not reach out to members of their extended family for support in daily living. In short, the modern family is an ever-changing device. Society is much better off having these sorts of various views of family. It is comforting to know that one will always have someone to turn to in times of need, but it is also nice to know that one can be independent of others and have the determination to stand
American families have changed tremendously over the past years. Families did not only face the change in their status or social behavior; but also faced a change in their lifestyle. Now there are different types of families with different types of norms and values. Families are socially, ethnically and very expressively diverse than ever before (Angier).
activities where I provided service to others. For example, through Track & Field I helped raise
The evolution of extended families has progressed far from the early black and white episodes of The Addams Family, to the country life of The Waltons, and to the crazy lives of the family in Full House. It is clear that the changes in the portrayals of families provide audience members with a picture of families being more complex if nothing else (Bryant, 2001). Therefore, it is certain that each decade has surpassed the other in its growth and development of extended families.
In ancient marine times people built boats out of bamboo, bundles of reeds, air filled animal skins and more. One of the first boats was made out of sticks and put together with sewn hides. Also at the time then didn’t have oars invented yet so people would use their hands to make the boat move. And to move the rafts they would push poles against the bottom of the rivers or lakes. Then they came out with sails which would replace the action of the humans and sail boats could take on longer trips and heavier loads rather than just the boats make out of sticks. Then they came out with the Viking long ships, those would be about 30 meters long made out of overlapping planks of oak wood, held together by iron rivets. Each ship would carry about 60 oarsmen who rowed the ship. Next they came out with the Chinese junks which were constructed out of softwood and had a horse shaped stern. And their sails weren’t like most, instead of squares they were more built pointed on the top and squared at the bottom. Then they had the three and four masted sailing ships which were in service for several centuries and these wooden ships were used for battling. Then we came out with the clipper ships which were fast sailing ships with long slim hulls and tall masts. Next they came out with the steamships so instead of sails and oars to power it, it was combined with wind and wind power. Then they had the ocean going liners which were driven by a propeller and made of iron. And they came out with the steam driven boats which had paddles on the side of them. Next the sailing ships were converted to diesel power so that they would use oil instead of steam. ...
To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.
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.
The family unit is as diverse as the societies they each represent. This sometimes can manifest traditional roles of doting mothers and providing fathers into a home with two sets of parents (Kurrien & Dawn Vo, 2004). Therefore, the involvement and importance of the extended family: grandparents and other family members such as aunts and uncles play a significant role in both its economic and social function.