My Family : Personal Reflection Of The Family Of A Family

My great-grandmother was the matriarch of my family. When I was in seventh grade, around thirteen years old, she passed away due to breast cancer. This misfortune created an extremely difficult time for me because, not only was I adjusting to the environment of junior high, but many other issues were occurring in my life; this was the third death that I was having to deal with. Unfortunately, one of the previous deaths (that I was still trying to hurdle through and come to terms with), had occurred almost exactly a year before the passing of my great-grandmother. The second death that I had gone through occurred only one or two months before my great-grandma has passed. All of this turmoil created numerous internal conflicts for me, but also taught me a key lesson to keep note of, for the rest of my life.

I never has a chance to meet my grandparents from my father’s side because they were both deceased before I was born. They both passed away from terminal illnesses which include lung and colon cancer. Although I did not have a chance to meet them they are still known through the legacy their children have passed on. My grandparents gave birth to four children including my father. My aunt, Madlen, and my two uncles, Avik and Vartan. From all of my aunt and uncles the emotional endurance and strength of my Uncle Vartan has amazed me. His wife recently passed away from a terminal illness in which she lost her ability to complete everyday functions such as speaking, eating, or moving. As her

Families, as units, are extremely complex and vary drastically from one another. A person might be under the impression that his or her own family is nothing special, especially if they are accustomed to their family’s routines. After analyzing my own family through the sociological lenses of an assortment of scholars, it is now clear that it is not as simple as it seems. Sociologically analyzing my family through the divorces that have occurred in my life makes it clear that divorce can have an impact on a variety of family dynamics, such as my parents and their jobs and domestic duties, the amount of involvement they have with their friends and family, as well as my financial dependence on my parents.

It was not sudden; she had been suffering for a little less than a year. I kind of remember the “chain of reactions’ that led up to the diagnosis. It was around the fourth of July and we went to my grandparent’s house to celebrate. Shortly after arriving, everyone migrated to the pool area, where my Dad noticed that half of my grandma’s face was “melting” and her arm wasn’t through one sleeve of her shirt. After pointing that out, my grandpa proceeds to inform us that a few days prior, she had fallen on the ground while outside as a result of a medical issue and has been off ever since. Surprised to hear this, my dad told my grandpa to take her to the doctor. This day was the beginning of the end.

On May 11th 2013, my grandma passed away due to pancreatic cancer. A little later that year on September 25th, my mom received a call from my aunt in Guam that my dad had passed away in his sleep. Then on May 14th 2014, my grandpa passed from complications of an allergic reaction to a medication. So within a year, I was left to deal with three immediate family deaths, one right after another. Losing such important figures in one’s life could leave someone depressed and unmotivated to move on with their own life and to rise above those challenges is difficult, yet possible. During this time of hardship, I grew discouraged and saddened, but over time I became motivated to set aside these struggles and make a change.

In October of 2016, my grandma passed away from a hard battle with cancer. My grandma was my rock, the person who always pushed me to be better, the person who was always encouraging me to keep going, and the person who inspired me the most. During the battle, I experienced a lot of adversity. Whether it was school or cross country meets, that feeling never seemed to go away.

One day my dad came home from work. He looked really upset and didn’t seem like himself. Him and my mom told my brother, sister and I to come to the kitchen because they had bad news. “Kids, your great grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer yesterday.” My mom told us with watery eyes. “Yeah,” My dad started, “We just found out this morning.” This was very upsetting and depressing news for my family and I to hear, but we all got through it together. We did this by going to see him as much as we could, even thought he lived three hours away from

Two years ago, my grandmother was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. One year ago, my family and I were informed that she only had a year to live at the most. For months we've sat on the edges of our seats, watching her go through hard times to even more difficult times and wondering what moment would be the last. It was this fall that we realized these past few months would be our last with her.

She had been battling breast cancer for two years until she developed a brain tumor that would ultimately be the cause of her life ending. Over the years, we never really saw my Grandmother, Carolyn, in a bad state. We knew about her illness, her operations, and her treatments but we never saw her struggling with it because she was a strong women. Only up until she learned about her brain tumor, she was very good at making sure the family wasn’t worried about her because she knew she was going to die and that it was inevitable. The tumor grew fast and only gave Carol a short amount of time to live. She was diagnosed with six months left to live and she passed after five. The funeral was very hard to deal with. I love Carol and she was a joy but everyone at the funeral took it a lot harder than me. My godmother went up and spoke about her and it was so painful to see so many people crying and wishing that she would come back, including her husband. I tried very hard to be strong for the others in my family but I learned that dealing with pain is all apart of grieving and accepting death.

Social class from a sociological perspective refers to a group of people of who share similar status, levels of power and wealth. At the moment in my family I would say that a lower-middle class serves as a best representation of our socioeconomic status. A lower-middle class according to Rosside’s model, accounts for approximately thirty to thirty-five percent of the population. It includes less affluent professionals such as nurses and teachers. I based my family’s socioeconomic status on our moderate position when it comes to income, education, and occupation class.

After multiple emergency room visits with her and my dad, she was admitted just days after our car ride. By this point, my beautiful, rosy haired, blue eyed grandmother had such unbearable pain in and around her abdomen, that it was hard to look at her without feeling the pain she was feeling. Despite the excrucaiting pain of the bladder cancer was slowly making her weaker and weaker, she pushed on. My grandmother was the toughest person I knew and there had been numerous events where she continued to show me and my entire family just how strong she was. Although she was the strongest person I have ever known, she was very fragil and ended up having to come stay with my family and I on hospice care. And throughout my journey with her living with us, I realized just how much we need to cherish every moment with the people that we love. From the days counting down towards her death, I felt as if I had never had done enough with her and that I would do anything to be

On June 3rd of last year, my grandmother had informed us that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer and she had a tumor on her lungs the size of a medium sized marble. This day on June 3rd just so happened to be her 60th birthday. A day that was supposed to be filled with nothing but joy for my beloved grandmother turned into a day filled with pain for my entire family. Through everything, no matter the situation, she would always remain positive. Though we were crying, she explained to us that everything happens for a reason and that we shouldn't be upset because she wasn't going anywhere for a long time.

I have grown up in an American, Caucasian, middle-class family of five. My parents have been married for 29 years and have two daughters and a son. My sister is 27, my brother is 25, and I am 20. My family has had many great experiences, but has also faced various challenges. Throughout our different experiences, our family dynamic has developed.

Growing up in a family with four siblings you would think that we would be as tight-knit as the Brady Bunch, right? Well, growing up I always felt distant from one of my older siblings, Alyssa. Before my mom and dad met, my dad was in a relationship with a woman named Raquel. Raquel is the mother of my two older siblings, Andrew and Alyssa. My dad and Raquel separated early in their lives and a short time later he met my mom. Two years after my parents got married, they expanded the family by having my older brother Martin. They then later, my younger brother Sebastian and I to the mix. Having a different mother than my two oldest siblings has always felt a little awkward. Not having the same mom caused us not to have such a personal connection with each other as siblings. Alyssa is the second oldest and 11 years older than myself. Ever since I can remember Andrew has always been the easier one to connect to. He is funny and easygoing however Alyssa is the complete opposite. She acted as if she had a heart of stone. Alyssa was harder to connect to not only because of her fiery attitude but because growing up she never showed one ounce of respect for my mom. The amount of disrespect she displayed to my mother was something I had a deep hatred for. I have always had a short fuse and witnessing her actions made me want to erupt like a volcano. Witnessing her fiery attitude and disrespect towards my mother made me distance myself from her even more. I would spend my day

”No one is ever born into Life alone. Everyone has shared the bond of family, at least at birth, and for many people it is a bond that will follow them throughout life. For many people it is the most important bond of all.”