“Caio, Caio, Caio” Everyone says as I enter through the old crumbling door into the main room. The tomato and basil smells from the kitchen make their way to my nose. “Come va?” “Sembri proprio tuo padre!” Everyone is screaming to tell me something and then my grandmother screams “Okay, that’s enough!” Silence swept the room. Everyone was gathered around like they were ready for a ceremony. With red cheeks and sweat running down his face, my grandfather introduced everyone. Every person coming up and kissing me on each cheek. The small stuffy room smelled like pasta and only had one window for enough light to shine through to see the mustiness in the room. It was an only house with crosses up in every room. All of the family is Catholic and it showed immensely through their personalities. Everyone broke up and spread throughout the creaky old house.
It was late in the afternoon with the sun beating down on the house like a warm summer day. Today I was going to learn how to make fresh pasta and gravy. Gravy was the Italian way of saying spaghetti sauce. My grandmother starts with a prayer to thank God for the food we have and the family around us. Prayer is the best way to receive what you want whether that is a good meal or a miracle. The making of the pasta begins and there are ingredients being thrown everywhere like a game of catch. Into a bowl goes flour, salt, eggs, with a little bit of oil and water. My grandmother needs the dough with her soft hands into a perfectly
I grew up with both of my parents and three siblings, my family is extremely close, so close that everyone needs a break from one another from time to time. My family is far from perfect, I am not the oldest child but I always took on that role as being the oldest sibling. The one who watches my two younger siblings when both of my parents weren’t home. My older brother Aubrey was supposed to be the one who watched over us but he never did. He spent his days locked away in his room, or nat at the house at all. Taking on the role of almost a mother figure to my younger siblings was difficult. I had to learn to be selfless and not just think for myself at an early age. When my mom didn’t come home till after twelve to escape my dads drunkness or my dad was laying out drunk in the bedroom. I was the one who fed my little brother and sister. I was the one who cleaned up the room the three of us shared. I was the one who helped them with their homework, who did my little sister's hair. I didn’t realize how much mature I became because of this responsibility till I was in high school and was referred to as Mom by the basketball team. I’ve always thought that I was the same as any teen immature, reckless, and carefree. That wasn’t the case at all I had many responsibilities like babysitting my siblings,washing and folding our clothes, making sure they get their chores done. I did this because I knew my father drank because of our financial situation, not being able to pay the
For all my life my family has been very close. My mother’s family has always been close by and we have always celebrated every holiday together, spent birthdays and we always got together to eat dinner. Even though my father’s side of the family lives scattered throughout the country we always found times to travel and see each other. We did not see each other on holidays except for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is the one time of the year I get to spend with my entire family. I always love the craziness and even though my father hates cooking for forty people he does it because it is so important to my family. He knows the only thing that matters is our family is all there and it brings us all closer for that one time of the year. My family on paper seems happy and perfect but it is not. My family has had stressful times with illness and deaths and when people thought it would tear us apart it did not it brought us all closer.
I most strongly identify with two cultural groups: Judaism and women. This is because I live as a Jewish woman every day. My family is also a part of the Jewish faith. In our family, we value honesty, dedication, and generosity. I have learned that with these values I am a better person. I grew up in an upper – middle class family in North Carolina. My parents believe in hard work and being successful and genuine in everything you do. My ancestors all came from Eastern Russia, but were kicked out because of their religious views. During World War II people of the Jewish faith were forced out of their homes and sent to concentration camps. But, my family was lucky and escaped Eastern Russia. The primary race of my family is Caucasian and the language spoken is English. However, my grandparents on both sides speak Yiddish when they are not around me and my siblings. Unfortunately, I cannot understand anything they are saying, but feel connected to the language because of my faith. My relationship to Yiddish is similar to people’s relationships with the smell of Christmas trees. When I hear it, I feel at home and when people smell Christmas trees they feel connected with the holiday of Christmas.
“Family” is a bit of a weird word for me. It is portrayed as so fundamentally important, “Your family is always there for you.” Movies and televisions shows spin stories about love, about fighting but always making up in the end, about unwavering support and caring. When it’s time to give thanks, be it in a speech or a written blurb, people always thank their families. I did when I was a little kid and had to write little biographies for shows, but that hasn’t happened in a long time. I was one of the only (if not the only) people in my graduating class to not mention their family in their senior thanks. During my church “Coming of Age” program I was the only one who didn’t list family as one of the most important things in my life, and my mother noticed. She was upset. My father doesn’t understand why I don’t go to my aunt or grandparents when I need a favor. “They’re your family!” That’s a loaded phrase.
Did you know the name Keller is actually a german word for cellar or basement? Although the origin of the name is not usually common knowledge, the name Keller is a pretty big name in the Tongue River Valley where I have resided the past 4 years of my life. For generations, the Kellers have built houses, preached the gospel, raised children, and made lifelong friendships in this small town. Having this already established connection with the community and it’s residents is such a blessing, yet I’ve discovered that it can also have some faults. The past year, I have pushed myself to become more independent and socialize outside of the comfort zone that my family has established for me.
My family is friendly and welcoming when interacting with other people. My cousin who has been living with his Turkish girlfriend for more than 5 years got engaged. The girlfriend’s parents came to our house to meet the rest of the family. On that day, my aunts cooked the finest dish and the house was basically clean and with some bouquets of flowers. Her parents were so delighted on how close my family is and we instantly created a special familial bound with people that we meet for the first time. My family and I have a strong bond, we are always there for another in any situation. I live in Cambria Heights; my neighborhood is full of Caribbean people especially Haitians. If we are talking to someone and we see that they are Haitians, we constantly speak Creole with them rather than talking in a foreign language.
Some worse than others, children are known to have their flaws. Making mistakes and learning are all a part of growing up, but for Jace, these mistakes came few and far between. The day Jace entered this world, our family knew he had been a blessing. Being the first “real” grandchild in the family, due to the fact my brother and I were just step grandchildren, belief had it that he would become spoiled; however, that concept was not grasped as quickly as expected. Many qualities including his compassion, willingness to help, and social ability provided the boy with the infectious smile the ability to shine light upon our lives.
A mid-forty year old with the soul of a twenty-one-year-old, my aunt Kelly is a complex individual. Whenever she announces her visits, my cousins lock their doors and shut off their phones. Someone signals the rest of our family that Kelly is in the area. Living an hour away in Trenton, she checks in a few times a year. It’s not that my family hates her; she is the life of the party. However, Kelly is an outspoken woman with headstrong opinions and somewhat threatening mannerisms under the influence of alcohol. She is a handful to deal with.
No one can’t meet a family like mine’s. My family is well diversified. Every family member plays an important role in all my family’s lives. In my family, there are four people: my father, my mother, my little brother and me. My father is one who brings money home and is also responsible for organizing and planning family trips. My mother is the one who is in charge for making meals and makes sure everyone eats at the appropriate times. My little brother is the pet of the family. He actually doesn’t have any responsibilities, for he’s the pet. I am the rock of support in my family. I always go beyond my parents’ expectations. I also support my younger cousins and little brother, by being a role model that they can look up to. Another
When I was 16 years old me and my family moved from America to Europe. We wanted to start a new life away from the troubles we encountered in our town. We constantly had overdue bills, not enough food, or so little money we could barely get by. We didn’t know if we could live in this torture area much longer. We had plenty of euros. I think we had like 10,000 or something. We originally had family there who would send us the euros as gifts, then we became collectors. We all wanted to live in Paris, France. My Grandmama lived there with my Auntie Sage and her children. They didn’t know we were moving there it was their Christmas surprise. We were almost done packing when we forgot about my cat , Daise. “Daise, Daise, here kitty cat” I
The summer with Nana went by really fast. I thought it couldn’t go any faster until I met Emma. Nana took me over to her house, which was a few houses down. We both share many of the same interests and love to play together. On the day we meet we both knew right away that we would be great friends.
I hopped in line to get on the go cart’s at Blackthorn Family Resort in the Catskills. My mom’s whole family went to this resort this year. It was only the second day but, I was so bored.
On October 20, 2000 I was brought into the world 1:38 in the morning at Hurley Hospital. I was around 8lbs. My mother likes to tell my siblings and I that she had all of our names planned ever since she was a little girl. She ended up naming me Alexa Rae Odom. She says the she named me after the singer Billy Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel. My mother also like to tell me that I interrupted the poker game she was winning just before she went into labor. She says that we could used that money to pay the hospital bill.
Every aspect of life plays an important role to my life, as I continue to understand about myself. Throughout the process of gathering informations about the three generations of my family, I have learned many new information regarding myself. Sometimes these information can become severe as the time passes, which can change my life in many different directions. With this being said, cancer and diabetes can play an important role in my life, according to my family genome. There are many aspects to genetics that can affect how a person is developed throughout their life. My development is due to my family’s values, beliefs, genetics, and traditions.
We all have grandparents, but mine is an especially are a big part of my family. Our grandparents do not live close to us, so it’s great when we get to see them. It's especially tough since our family is so far apart. Family is the most important thing in our family. This time was an especially important to our family for a number of reasons.