Generational Curses Of My Family

Most of my close ties to South Carolina are within Charleston County. Those living in Charleston County are my father, two grandmothers, and aunt. Until the age of 8, while under the guardianship of my maternal grandmother, Evelyn Flowers, I attended Memminger Elementary School in downtown Charleston. After which, I relocated to Tallahassee, Florida to live with my mother and ever since then I have been regularly visiting Charleston at least 3 times per year. Currently, my maternal grandmother and aunt, Monique Flowers, both live at 1705 Drawbridge Ct. Charleston, SC 29414. My grandmother has lived in Charleston for 65 years, and my aunt for 39 years. My father, Nathaniel Magwood stays within the same residence as my paternal grandmother, Rosalie

In case study nine, “The Family I Have,” we explore the relationship life of a Jewish girl named Myra during her adolescent years. Her story primarily focuses on her family relationship issues being that she neglected her family for her friends and other aspects of her life. This case study explores the relationship transition from family first to friends first as Myra went from childhood to adolescents. Like many adolescents, Myra’s shift is further driven by the newfound independence of adolescence, However, her desire for independence and means to gain it may have been more extreme than the stereotypical adolescent, causing turmoil in her and her family’s lives. Her story also analyzes the concept of family and the roles that each member plays within the unit. Eventually, Myra tries to strengthen her relationship with her family during her college years but wonders if it’s too late because the damage of their roles is already done.

A brief background of my family will provide some meaning to our family structure. My parents were both born and raised in Muncie, Indiana at a time when the economy was not strong. My father was the fourth of five siblings in a household dominated by a physically abusive and alcoholic father. My mother lost both of her parents at a young age. I would learn later in life that my father

My maternal grandparents are JC Williams and Clara Goree and they were both born in 1910 and born and raised Sprotts (Marion), Alabama. My grandparents lived in segregated AL; JC ethnicity was black, southern Baptist, farmer, and Clara was combination of black and American Indian, homemaker, and farmer. Clara and JC wedded in 1926 and had their first child (Bobbie) shortly afterward. Subsequently, this union birth a total thirteen children and my mother (Mary) was number 11 of 13. The children worked well together to ensure their basic needs were met; however, once they became of age, the children all left to start their own careers and families.

My mother has lived in Texarkana, TX, her whole life just like I have. The year of her birth until she was in the third grade she lived on Tamar Street, in a three bedroom house, that was in Pleasant Grove District, one street away from Pleasant Grove Middle School. Her family then moved into a three bedroom house on Clear Creek, a few streets away from her former house; this house is still the house that her parents still live in. After my mother got married, her and my father moved into an apartment called Tanglewood apartments at the time. They lived at their apartment for four years. In the year 1991 my parents moved into their own house they bought to raise their family in. The three bedroom, two bath, one car garage, and big back yard house, is the house that they still live in today.

My grandmother’s father, my great-grandpa, left the family when she was six years old. They had since moved to Detroit and

The family composition comprises of a basic family structure including the father, mother, brother, and sister within the household. An example would be my mother, Ernaline Pabatao who was 13 years old in high school, and her siblings were in elementary including Bernadito who was 11 years old, Caroline who was 9 years old, and Ernest who was 7 years old. Her parents, Bernadita was 23 years old and Ernesto was 33 years old at the time. They had eloped when Bernadita was 18 years old and was not able to finish her college studies because Ernesto prevented her to achieve her academic ambitions.

Many of my life experiences have given me a glimpse of what it means to be in the margins of society. My family’s history of racism and poverty, my father’s physical disability, my experiences as a woman, and growing up in the diverse Bay Area with friends, mentors, coaches, and teachers from different backgrounds has opened my eyes to the disparities in society. When I was sixteen I had a particularly salient experience that awoke my heart and mind to the ideas of social justice. I was in Memphis, Tennessee for a basketball tournament and on our day off we went to the Civil Rights Museum, which was built around the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. We saw the counters from sit-ins, buses from the Freedom Ride, and learned about the systematic oppression of Jim Crow. I was confused by the hate and anger I saw but found myself clenching my fists with rage at the injustice of it all. Yet, what was even more powerful was sitting in the parking lot with my team and listening to our assistant coach, who was an African-American man, share his experiences of racism, how it shaped his identity, and his fears for his two sons. Our head coach then shared about her experiences as lesbian and the ways in which she was continually denied rights because of her sexual orientation.

My maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Sicily, Italy, who came over on a boat to Ellis Island, with his mother and two older siblings to pursue a better life with opportunity. He became a “scholarship boy” (Rodriguez 49) and through determination and hard work, he became a civil engineer, designed infrastructures and developed inventions for the government, and was extremely successful. My maternal grandmother on the other hand, was born and raised in the United States, with her family lineage tracing back to the Donner party and distant relative, William Wallace. My grandparents met in Southern California, married, and settled in Santa Barbara. Being of Catholic faith, my grandmother became a stay at home mother, and conceived nine children. When my mother was in middle school, her parents divorced, and they were left to be raised by my grandmother, with the financial support of my grandfather. Being a newly divorced woman, my grandmother began to partake in the lifestyle of the 70’s/ early 80’s. My mother being

I would like you to imagine being in a country where your family has moved but you have never visited before. You do not speak the language. Every word you hear except from the small portion of your family is unfamiliar and confusing. There is no implicit definition for many of these syllables and even if there were, you would not know it, but this culture intrigues you. These people live a life like you have never seen.

My grandmother, Sharry Elizabeth Hebert grew up in Superior Wisconsin and was born in 1942. She was the last one to be born of five children, however, her brothers and sisters were grown and gone out of the household. Although, in 1960 she graduated from high school, my grandmother was 17 and couldn't find a job right away. The september after she graduated was when she went to college for 2 years, and it wasn't until the following summer of her first year when she finally got a job. My grandmother worked many jobs but just a few include a secretary, an employee at Fitgers Brewery, a clothing factory, and at a doughnut shop. 1962 was when she got married to her first husband and had 2 children Kim, and Lesley. That was until she got remarried

History is defined as the study of the science of humanity in the past. It's a broad subject that spans over countless people groups throughout the years that the world has been around. Even before the times we have written word history was still being made, and it is still extremely important. We tend to forget that in our average day to day lives we are still making history. That all over the globe everyone is taking part in what might be in a history book someday.

Mike had given a speech to Bodnar about the hardships that the men went through in the mills. He wondered if God had put him on his earth was to be worked in the furnaces. “Once I used to ask myself, Is this what the good God put me on earth for, to work my life away in Carnegie’s blast furnaces, to live and die in Braddock’s alleys? I couldn’t believe it. Now I know that God had nothing to do with it. Chance rules the world” (Bell, 197). Mike felt everyone should love the job they work in and shouldn’t feel as if they’re not appreciated. “I don’t mind work. But a man should be allowed to love his work and take pride in it” (Bell, 196).

Family history is very important to an individual. By knowing where you come from, you can have a better perspective of your life. Having a clear understanding of your family background allows you to better appreciate the things that you would normally take for granted. The house, the car, and the average clothing may look better when one sees the sacrifices their family has made. They will see that their family has worked very hard just so their family can experience the better things in life. A persons roots and origin is one of the most important things to explore. It alone can bring you closer to self-discovery.

What I am today is the reflection of my family's history. History of endeavors, pains, failures and growth. One evening, I was talking to my grandma and she started telling about our family. At first, it seemed quite boring, but ended up in tears and made me learn the most important lesson of my life. It was quite a deep thing to realize for a kid but fortunately and eventually I understood.