My Family

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.

John F. Kennedy once said, ”Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” This quote explains how much of a support my grandparents, family, and a safe country mean to me. I am very thankful for my grandparents who support me all the time and come to sporting events and love to hear about school when they call at night. I am also thankful for my amazing family, who always stand by me everyday and love to hear about my school day and come to baseball games even when they don’t really want to. Some of the other things that I am also thankful for are that we can live safe happy lives, we don’t have to be drafted into the Army, etc. Lastly, I am thankful for a safe country that has a great armed forces, leaders, and is very generous. Moreover, I am thankful for a safe country, family, and my amazing grandparents.

There are things more important than money in life. As the days pass by, someone dies or is born. There are some who live their lives with nowhere to call home.Dreaming of having a place to sleep and eat and be comfortable at. There are some who live their lives, knowing that the next day they won’t be able to wake up. Hoping that they get to stay alive another day to feel the warmth of the sunshine on their face, to smell the freshly made breakfast, and to be healthy again. And there are those who live their lives with no family, dying to know how it feels to be embraced by your parents. Some people never experienced having a family. Some people, including kids were never able to stay healthy. And some people never experienced what a roof on top of their heads would be like. I am thankful to have a home where I feel secure. I am thankful to be in a healthy condition. I am thankful to have a family.

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

The era of dining as a family is becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs. I find this to be distressing and tragic because it personally affects my family. Just a generation ago, 80 percent of families ate their meals together every night and the numbers have dwindled since. Now, in 2017, 40 percent of American families eat dinner together, and even then, usually no more than two or three times a week (Food Marketing Institute). Within the last 20-30 years, something has changed. This tradition is dying because people now are constantly busy, becoming so caught up in life that they simply do not value family time as much as past generations. According to the study, “Correlations in Family Meals…”, “Family meals offer routine and consistency and provide an opportunity to socialize children and teach them about communication skills, manners, nutrition, and good eating habits.” There are numerous benefits that can come from just sharing a meal with your loved ones, yet so many people don’t take advantage of this quality family time.

There are many things in life that have shaped me into the person that I am today, but my family is easily the biggest influence on me. This is my story.

My family may not be the tightest, or richest, but my parents love me and would do anything for me. My parents made me who I am, my mom told me to be humble and never judge a person because who knows what that person has been through. On the other hand there's my dad, who taught me a lot about the real world, and life is not as easy as I thought and you'll need money to have a decent life, so stay in school, because school the only way for a better life. My oldest brother probably taught me the most though. He tells me about sports and who got traded or hurt, he tells me about politics. They are the reason I am me. After all, if I was raised by my uncle, I think I wouldn't even think about going to college, I would prolly live in Norwood all my life following in his footsteps, but I wasn't, I was raised by two supporting parents, who wants me to have a better life than them and will make sure I will. My family made me who I am, with my dad lectures about me needing to work for what I want, to my mom's kindness and showing me how to treat others no matter who they are.

Now for the part we're all waiting for, the siblings. My oldest sibling Daniel (32), this is one of the three siblings that totally excluded themselves out of the family. Right out of high school he closed all contact from my Dad and all the kids that still resided with him. Needless to say, I am the only kid that hasn’t talked to him. Next, Chase (30) I have a very distinct relationship with him only because when I look and talk to him it feels like I’m talking to my Dad. Like my Dad, he chooses his favorite siblings and the specific ones he wants to have a relationship with and like you can guess I’m not included in that group. Three years ago Chase decided to get into drugs and misuse them and I talked to him asking if his life was that bad that he had to turn to heroin for an escape and he just sat there with no response that is the one conversation that will stick with me till I die. Now the second most impactful sibling Rochelle(29) she gets me through thick and thin when it comes to my parents and calms me down when I need it the most. She has made me who I am and will always be by my side till I die. She has been in a total of six car totaling accidents since my birth because she suffers from Schizencephaly which is a rare birth defect where slits or clefts are formed in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain and causes her to have periodic seizures. Next, we hit Cole (27) my relationship could be stronger but it's not weak. I only see him maybe once or twice every

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.

Everyone has their story. What makes them unique and special? Where did they come from? What made them the way they are ? For me it is that I grew up faster than most. It started when I was little, I always wanted to do my own hair. The thing I always said was, “I can do it myself.” If anyone tried to help I would still say the same thing. It then continued when my parents got a divorce. I was very young; around six and a half years old. When this happened I did not know what to  feel but I was still a happy, cheerful kid. I now realize that family is very valuable and can change in a heartbeat. The idea of family to me means people who would do almost anything for you and you would do the same. After the divorce, when at my dad’s, I had to help take care of my younger brother. I would help him dress, brush his teeth, and make food. I now value what my mom does and did when I was a kid more because taking care of my little brother was difficult.

Sitting in jail after getting myself in trouble with a few friends doing things we should not have done. Balling my eyes out thinking of all the things that are going to ripple from this one mistake, I start to think of how this would affect my life and family. Overall, not really knowing what to do.

One of the most difficult things to do is to break all my ethical values and principles down into a single phrase or statement. However, I have no choice in the matter. So, I would have to say that my family’s drive to want to do good for those who are less fortunate and the strong sense of family that we all demonstrate must be the strongest and best values of all. If we stay along that thought process, I would say that, for me, if I leave a strong and ethically sound roadmap or legacy for my kids and their kids to follow, then I would say that life was a success. Having said all of that, here is my single statement: The purpose of life is to achieve a socioeconomic status to where I can ensure the safety and overall wellbeing of both my family and then their families while achieving a positive impact on society that is greater than when I entered it. Always try to better myself and my family!

In the film, “The Emotional Life” there was a very interesting episode called “Family, Friends and Lovers”. “Family, Friends and Lovers” reminded me of situations that I have experienced in the past. I can honestly relate to this episode in so many ways, such as my outlook on family and friends. The first few people that babies ever know are their family. Infants value their mother/caregiver more than anyone. From birth they tend to form a bond with their caregiver, in which is known as attachment. Due to their family members being the first people they interact with they learn how to relate with people at home. Family relationship is practice to what is next; meaning the relationships people gain with their family helps them prepare for future relationship with others. Friendships can be very helpful because no one wants to be lonely. It is quite nice to have someone else to hang and interact with besides family. It is great to have a friend that you can connect with.

On the day of October 7, My mom picked me up from dance at 9. I walked in my house and walked back to my bedroom and plugged my phone in, as I walked out of my bedroom and walked to the bathroom my dad had yelled my name to come here. My mom and dad were in their bedroom and I continued on to go to the bathroom. As I was walking in my mom walked out into the hallway and I whispered to her and said what does he want. My mom said “I don’t know” just go to the bathroom. So I went to the bathroom my heart racing and wondering what was going on, I knew it couldn’t of been good. When I came out of the bathroom they were still in their bedroom, and I was trying to avoid going in to talk. So I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to get some grapes, and then I was heading to the basement to finish my homework. As I was washing off my grapes, they walked out into the kitchen. They then walked up to me and told me they needed to talk. My dad grabbed my hands and my mom walked to my side, and then that 's when they said my mom had breast cancer. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there and the tears started pouring out. That 's when all the questions and bad thoughts started to come to mind. The questions like what is she going to have to have, and then the thought of I don’t know what I would do without my mom. She came around and gave me a hug and told me she was going to be okay. I definitely couldn’t tell them that I was thinking that. I had to be strong and make

Most people think that their lives would be perfect if only certain conditions were met, or circumstances would turn in their favor. I know many of my friends would choose to be rich and famous. Others may choose simple things, like a new house or a car, even a better job. For me, my life would be perfect with these three things. To have more time with my family, have more love and less hate in the world.