My Family

My grandmother and her siblings lived near a grocery store with old fashion wooden floor as well as freshly picked fruits and vegetables from the farm. My grandmother stated the rent prices was different compare to her days and her oldest sister had to pay only $6.50 for rent. My grandmother said back in her time a nickel was worth a whole lot and If you had a dime you were considered to have a lot of money. To return to the subject, after losing their mother, another tragedy strikes seven years later when my grandmother finds out her younger sister Veronica got married. My grandmother stated from her days you could get married at the age of fifteen if you had parents ' permission. Everyone was so upset because he or she thinks her sister was too young to get married and did not trust her husband. My grandmother said he kept saying he would kill somebody and go to jail. My grandmother said her sister husband started to give her bad vibes. To change the topic my grandmother also said one day when her sister was in bed trying to go to sleep her husband was in the bathroom taking a bath. She felt something poking at her side and turn around to see what it was. It was a bunch of knives in the bed with her. Fear for her life she left silently while her husband was still in the bathroom. One day my grandmother sister spouse had called her sister to meet him on the track. Hesitant she went to meet him that morning. After my grandmother sister was done talking to him, she turns to

My family growing up was very connected with the community. My dad was on the police man for the town of Sleepy Hollow and served as a board member for the town of West Dundee. My brothers and I learned how to care for and about others from the example our dad set. My grandfather died when I was quite young so I cannot say if he was an example for my dad, his brother and two sisters. For this paper, I will discuss my father and his family in parallel with myself and my brothers. I and my father, are the youngest. My father had three siblings and I have two. The relationship between my father and his two older siblings was very strong. My father’s relationship with the sister just a couple of years older than him has been strained since the death of my grandmother in 1983. I have a strained relationship with my eldest brother. The relationship I have with my brother who is just two years older is better, but still strained. I grew up in a strict catholic family that went to catholic school and attended whichever church my father was a deacon at. This is important because back in the 1970’s and 1980’s families did not talk about things that happened. My family was not any different. Everything, bad was swept under the table never to be spoken of.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it”

Family is almost everyone’s main priority today. When friends seem to disappear, family will always be there. Family comes with tears of joy, anger, strong protection, laughs, sadness, and happiness. It’s never a dull moment around close love ones. Being around family, and having fun with them is like winning the lottery. It’s such an exciting feeling. On the other hand, family can be very annoying. So annoying that someone wishes they weren’t related to them. Rather it’s someone’s annoying bitter judgmental aunt, alcoholic uncle, or someone’s aggravating little sister.

I grew up in a household slightly different from the average household. This abnormal household showed me that no matter the family unit someone can have a positive influence in their life that will push them to achieve their goals. We lived in Maryland so the cost of living was high my parents had to work multiple jobs. This means my brother and I really had little to none parental or supervision growing up. I am only four years younger than my brother so I would hang with his crowd of friends rather than mine. In my household, my mother’s niece, Monet lived with us she is about ten years older than my brother. When my brother and I would wake up and I would be the only person in the house. I can remember waking up and smelling the freshly cooked waffles and bacon downstairs. Monet was my mother’s brother, daughter. Monet became so close to my brother Avery and I she was almost as if she was our sister. I can remember growing up and she would always say, “You don't have to take the route I took, its many more exits on the highway.” Even though I was young I was not blind to the fact of Monet role in the community and her neighborhood job I never judged her, she did what she had to do to make ends meet. It was an experience every day, or anytime being with Monet. She was so popular around Maryland it was almost like everywhere we went we received respect love. Now that I look back at the past, I see that Monet has taught me a lot that I know and live by today. I could

Family was a word that made me feel like an empty bag, drifty down the wind, not having a clue about . It was a word I heard a lot, my family this and my family that, people I was surrounded with had a family to be with but I didn't have no family here to even spend time with. Sometimes when I heard people talk about their family, I would day dream and imagine how my family was like, what did they like to do and go to family reunions, how many people were in my family, were there some in my family characteristics that I shared with them or were there others that were totally different from mine. I would think what was my mom and dad's side like, what was different about them. All these questions I had floated in my head and left me wondering out for years. Whenever people asked about my family, I would just want to blast off, miles away to my destination and meet them, then land back to the conversion and tell them about my family.

Family. That word means everything to me. My parents, both immigrants from India, were raised in relative poverty in their hometown of Bengaluru. They courageously made the decision to leave their own family behind for the sake of a better opportunity for themselves and their children. They sacrificed a lot when I was growing up, as they worked hard to establish their careers. Thankfully, my grandparents were there to help take care of me. Travelling back and forth from India, they would help around the house, cook meals, and even pick me up from school. Their presence played a huge role in my childhood. I was lucky enough to basically grow up with four parents, each of whom instilled in me values that I hold today: hard work, sacrifice, and altruism.

As children we are born into a family in which we are chosen by God to be in. We are placed in a home, community, and an environment that makes us who we are today. Some of us must seek to overcome and grow out of the place we were born in and others are more content with where they were brought up in. As a child I was born in a good home yet fought many battles but it made me the strong soldier I am today.

What is your family like? How many siblings did you grow up with ? So many people get to grow up with both parents and with siblings or without any. For me that was not the case. I got to grow up with my mom who is amazing but having a father figure was semi hard. My parents were together until i was two and then things hit a bump. They separated and i was too young to realize what was going on nor did i know who my father really was. As i grew older the picture got clearer. In the beginning of my life things were great i did not mind having to go back and forth to my parents house. My dad still came around for my birthday parties and they made things work. I thought everything was great and i was living the perfect life. I was two at the time and chocolate and babydolls is what i called perfect.

The most important thing for me in my life is my family. Although we are separated during the week, we would hardly see each other. Deep down they are the reason why I look forward to Fridays and Sundays. These days are not just any ordinary day of the week for me and my family. My two beloved aunts Maria and Luz come to visit me and my mother, most of the time we go out of town, which makes the rest of the day go by very fast. Then what we usually do during the week.

My life was stereotypical. A mom, a dad, a brother, and a dog. A nuclear family was what it was. House with a white picket fence. My days consisted of being in my fantasy world. Where stuffed animals were pets and they had their own little families. Where I spent hours finding creepy crawlies in the woods. Where watching my dad’s favorite show was considered quality time. But that fence was only an illusion. Like many other families, that white fence kept in more than just the family dog. It contained the secrets and lies. It hid the reputation of an unfaithful father. It created an illusion of unity within our family.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always said that if I could have even just one wish, it would be for a teleporter from my home here in Iowa where my dad lives, to my home in Virginia where my mom lives. My family is huge; but it’s also split up. My parents have been apart basically since I was born. I have to travel back and forth between them constantly, because they live about 1200 miles away from one another. It wasn’t easy to deal with as a little kid… and it still isn’t. But what had happened one year, before I went back to Virginia with my mom for summer break, would change everything. And what I was to learn from it was even bigger.

I am so thankful for my family. Each and every member of my family has taught me a valuable lesson and loved me every day. They are all so strong and this is a quality I strive to have and continue throughout later generations. My family is not a group of bodybuilders or crazy gym rats. We are mentally strong. We have gone through tough days that we never thought would end. Those times still hurt but we made it through them together because we stood by each other and loved one another every step of the way. My family is not what others may picture as the perfect family but they are perfect to me.

Family was a word that made me feel like a empty bag, drifty down the wind, not having a clue where it's going next. It was a word I heard a lot, my family this and my family that. People I was surrounded with had a family to be with but I didn't have no family here to even spend time with. Sometimes when I heard people talk about their family, I would day dream and imagine how my family was like, what they liked to do, what did they do and go for family reunions, how many people I had in my family, were there some in my family, characteristics I shared with them or were there others that were totally different from me. I would think what was my mom and dad's side like, what was different, and how did they come together to call us a family, what was the history in the Kanidy and Elbare family that brought us together as one. All these questions I had in my head left me wondering out alone for years. Whenever people asked about my family, I would just want to blast off, miles away to my destination, right quick, and meet them and land back to the conversion and tell them about my family.

“Work hard, never give up, and most importantly, always stay humble and kind”, these are just a few words my father would say to me when he had the chance or felt that I needed to hear that. My mother would say, “Mickey, as long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything”. To this day, I live my life through proverbs, quotes, and advice from a variety of people. I am very family-oriented. Most of the things I do is in hopes that I can augment some type of valuable contribution to my family and others. To begin to tell my story, I will first start by talking about the people who had the biggest influence on my life.