My Family Essay

In 1974, my mother, and her lower class family, emigrated from Canada to New City, New York. They moved frequently back and forth between various American and Canadian cities due to my grandfather’s lack of finding long-term employment; he has a book filled with pages upon pages of business cards and papers recording his numerous previous employers. Eventually, my grandfather found a steady job in print, working for the New York Times in 1985, my grandmother opened her own bookstore for a brief period in time, and my mother and her siblings all attended and graduated from four-year colleges. The entire family continues to retain sole Canadian citizenship. As improved a life they have been provided, not all immigration stories have such a happy ending. Most immigrant families coming from south of the United States border, in the same financial situation as my mother and her family had been, will not have such luck. They are stuck in a paradox of stereotypes, between being perceived by the suburban white family as “lazy” or “taking all of our jobs.” Why is it that we turn a blind eye to our neighbors to the north, as if they collectively live up to the stereotype of unfaltering niceness? Though much has been said about these immigrants coming to the United States from Latin America, very little attention is being paid to the immigrants coming from Canada and Western Europe due to prejudice.

Growing up as a kid, the people I looked up to the most were my parents. As I got older I started to realize how much I started to influence my sister's and started becoming a role model to them. My family growing up hasn't been the greatest family or really even a normal one from what I think a family should actually be. ️

As I endured the prospect of creating a genogram, I allowed myself to reflect and interpret the history and impacts that affected my family. During my review of my genogram, I was able to consider my family within a multigenerational, diverse, and socio-political context. By creating a genogram, a dialogue was started within my head and with my partner about which family traits, issues, strengths, and resiliencies made me who I am today. Subsequently, this dialogue made me aware that being raised in a small family has many advantages along with some disadvantages when acquiring information about influences and the history of preceding generations. Consequently, I did not have to contend with many conflicting recollections but I did have to rely mostly on my own memory, public records, and journals to piece together my genogram. Although all things discovered and recollected are not always fortunate on the surface, they subsist as basis to my personal resilience and strength as a gay man.

Family it has so many different definitions and they are different for each person. The dictionary definition is “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household” or “all the descendants of a common ancestor”. My definition of family can range from blood relatives to friends of the family that have been around for some time that are practically already family. I don’t believe family is people that are just blood but those that have had such a deep/ emotional impact on your life that consider them deeper then friends. Also on the other hand you can have people that are blood with you but not consider them family because of personal or other reasons.

To a lot of people, having the same blood running through your veins, means a lot. To some it means that it automatically claims you to be family. Others may think being blood related means you’re more important to them then someone who may not be. But to me, blood has nothing to do with who you care about and who you consider family. It doesn’t shape you as a person and doesn’t define who you are going to be. I am adopted, therefore, most of my family and I do not share the same DNA. But I have learned that it doesn’t matter if you have the same color hair as your mother, or the same eyes as your father. What matters is the love and the care that people share for you, that’s what makes you family.

Over the past years of my life, many things have changed, including my friends, lifestyle, religious beliefs and jobs. With everything constantly changing around me, there is one thing that has always stayed the same: my family. When I think about my most blissful moments in life, they all involve my family. My relationship with my parents, brother, husband and children is something that I learn to treasure more and more every day. There are many significant things in my life, but the most important relationship to me is family.

Our family is made of five-member, i.e., three children and both parents. The family enjoys a close relationship with each other, and thus we live as one and thus live so enjoyable when we are

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.

My family? You actually want to use these few minutes to read about my family? Well, let me just say one thing: we are all so, very different. So, making connections is easier said than done. Yet, I have made a few crucial connections with my cousin Hayley, my cousin P.J., and my mother.

I am unique in many ways and this due to the many influences in my life. What makes me so unique is my family background, my personality, and my everyday experiences.

I knew from a young age that my family was what one would call, special. This “special” was my normal and my normal was no one else’s normal. Not a day has gone by that I have not been thankful for my Dad and his brothers, they have hard exteriors, but they’re mush on the inside. They are “professional idiots” my Mom would always say.

Each family is unique, as no one family is the same as another. Family is essentially, people who come from the same ancestors. Each family has their own history, immigration, and roots. As I was lucky enough to be born in America, I would have never had to opportunity to be brought into this world as an American without the sacrifices my family made years ago.

I belong to many different primary and secondary groups. Some of the primary groups I belong to are, my family group, my close friends and my religious beliefs. I also belong to many secondary groups. They are my distant family relatives, my workplace and my classmates. In my family group the members include my mother, Amanda McDougall, my father, Chris Lee, my brother, Jayden Lee and myself, Mackenzie Lee. I love every member in this group with all my heart. Every member also has a very important role and if one member wasn’t to pull their weight then the group would fall apart. My mother’s role that she partakes in the group, is doing all the motherly chores, such as cleaning the dishes, washing our clothes, sweeping, mopping, etc. She also always makes sure that my brother and I are clean, healthy and most importantly happy. My mother is the most important member in the group in my opinion. If she is even gone for a few hours, the house could be completely clean when she leaves, and by the time she gets back it is a disaster! I greatly appreciate everything my mother does for my brother and I. She doesn’t act like a mother, more like a friend. I feel comfortable to talk to her about anything and I don’t know what I would do without her. She is the strongest person I know. My father also has a major role in the group. My dad goes to work everyday and works his butt off to make sure my mother, my brother and I have food in our stomachs and have nice things. My brother and I

I grew up in a very normal family with a mom, dad, one brother and three sisters. Since I’m the baby of the family, my mom stayed home until I started school. My mom worked in payroll and accounting, and my dad was a computer engineer. My brother is the oldest and did his best to tease all four younger sisters equally. He was very good at his “job”, but I knew he loved me because he opened doors for me and even braided my hair on occasion. My three older sisters watched out for me, especially my oldest sister; she became my second mom. My sisters fought a bit, but it wasn’t anything horrible or abnormal. We were a pretty happy family that did a lot of fun things together and were loved by our wonderful parents. At least that’s what I remembered, but there were times that I wondered if I was loved at all. Was I just the baby of five kids, five years younger than my closest sibling, and easily forgotten?

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