Robert S. Boynton's Birth Of An Idea

Throughout life I’ve experienced a rather unpleasant childhood with the absence of my guiding figures: my parents. Seeing them rush in and out of the house to go to the hospital with my younger brother shaped me in a way nothing else could have. It made me who I am today, as well as aspired me towards what I want to be one day.

In “I’m Not My Brother; I’m Me,” author Peg Kehret expresses the expectations passed down from her two older brothers and the negative impacts these expectations had on her. From my point of view, I fully agree with the author. In my case, I have a 23-year old sister who is the epitome of perfection. She graduated top of her class in both high school and university, is athletic, and is currently working on Wall Street in New York City. In addition, she is very diligent at Chinese, public speaking, and ultimately anything related to school. As a result of this, as one can imagine, I constantly live in her long shadow. My sister is a very goal-oriented person and strives to reach them. She knew exactly what she wanted to be and the path she had to take to get there at a very young age. Throughout

I was always a precocious child, yet argumentative and rebellious. I did not want to accomplish anything following a pattern set for me. I wanted to forge my own way. This determination set me at odds with my mother, and has defined our relationship all these years. It has surely led me down my own irregular path in life, and placed me in position to be the family’s black sheep.

In “I’m Not My Brother; I’m Me,” author Peg Kehret expresses the expectations passed down from her two older brothers and how these expectations impacted her. From my point of view, I fully agree with the author. In my case, I have a 23-year old sister who is the epitome of perfection. She graduated top of her class in both high school and university, is athletic, and is currently working on Wall Street in New York City. In addition, she is very diligent at Chinese, public speaking, and ultimately anything related to school. As a result of this, as one can imagine, I have constantly lived in her long shadow. My sister is a very goal-oriented person and strives to reach them. She knew exactly what she wanted to be and the path she had to take

about the role of family and the significance of independence in a mature adult’s life.

In 1961 my father Everett Babcock and Lois Menken would marry and 10 months later in October they would give birth to my sister Kelly (1961-present), in April of 1965 I would be born. Although, we had our disagreements throughout our lives I would consider my immediate family as just a basic family there was not any mental illness or abuse. Although, on my father’s side of the family there is a history of suspected alcoholism, and both sides of the family there have been family members who contracted or died from

Families, which are basic units of human commit, are constructed from individuals with unique character; these individuals taken as a whole, construct the larger character of the family itself. However, because no individual’s character is perfectly compatible with another’s, there exist inevitable conflict within the family, such as can be expressed as conflict between the self and either another single member or the entire group. Naturally, the rational self will seek to ameliorate such as conflict, perhaps by simply accepting it as a natural part of human life. Other instances, which form the basis of the essay and find roots in essays by Alison Bechdel, Joan Didion, and Richard Rodriguez, occur when such acceptance does not. I strongly suggest that the common response to familial conflict, avoidance, that is, escaping the friction between human characters by refusing on some level to participate in family, introduces a new conflict. While Didion, Bechdel, and Rodriguez, provide textual support to the birth of this second conflict, I shall seek to explain its nature. Born of contrasting characters in family and self, conflict will not be replaced, but bolstered in avoidance. Thus, in acceptance, the self finds resolution.

I was the only child, and my father had passed away when I was just an infant. My mother had been diagnosed with leukemia and wasn’t able to work; nor even get out of bed. I already had a job, but I had to pick up a part-time job on Sunday’s to accommodate for my mother’s loss of income. During the week, I would work as a chef at a street side

Due to my parents’ divorce, an unfortunate rift has been created in regards to my family life. However, bad things can always become good, and I have been able to turn this into a good thing. I have learned to care for myself, and at a young age, this is becoming rarer and rarer these days. I am able to cook, clean, do laundry, shop, and provide for myself. Many days have been spent by myself with a home to take care of, giving me many responsibilities that the average teenager would not need to worry about. This has prepared me for college life as well as beyond in the eventual real world I will find myself in. This fierce independence has shaped everything, from my personality to my daily life and

Born in Haiti to Mr. & Mrs. Lormeus Frederick, my lifestyle as a child was very modest, humble, and supportive. We weren’t rich, nor were we poor; my parents provided food on the table every day and enrolled us in the most prestigious school in the country. Our home was very peaceful and fun. My father had five children from previous relationships while my mother only had two. Being the youngest child, I was always well protected and spoiled by everyone; it got annoying sometimes always being babied as if I couldn’t do things on my own. My siblings and I got along very well, of course we had our misunderstandings at times, but we always stuck together and had each other’s back. I sometimes wish I could go back to that life again.

As individuals grow older, face encounters, and endure numerous experiences, they have a tendency to eventually discover an inclusive sense of security in their daily life. When people keep a blind eye open to anything outside of their comfort zone, often times they see no reason to think about how different their lives could have been if particular events had not occurred. These were some of the same thoughts that drifted into my mind as I prepared for this assignment. Through it all, I became further captivated with the notion of how different my life would have ended up, had I remained an only child in my family. For this study I will define an only child as an individual who does not have any siblings.

I was the elder of my two brothers, each of us born two years apart. Both of my parents immigrated from the Soviet Union with my dad running his own dental office and my mom working as an optometrist. Growing up, her frequent late work hours meant that I was often accompanied by my dad and brothers at home-three loud burping, pickle eating, and sweat smelling boys in one house.

In the midst of a feuding family, I was constantly stressed. After my parents’ divorce, my mom removed herself from the lives of my brother TJ and me, and my father practically raised us on hatred and judgment towards my grandparents. This environment created major conflicting feelings and caused me to develop maturity at a young age, but the story doesn’t end here.

On April 26, 2004 I was born into the Richards family, awaiting me was a big brother and two very supportive parents. All my life I have been able to have amazing opportunities and a lot of freedom. Although some people say that I have all that I want in life handed to me, but they are wrong. When I was nine, I tried out for a travel hockey team, the best in the state. After days of my parents telling me to just play club, I made the team. From then on I knew that I would have to work for my sports and for my opportunities. Whenever I achieved something, I was always supported and funded by may parents go for it. From day one, my parents have been there for me, they have always been my number one fans. My mom and dad have given me a lot of

Another series of family-related conflicts unfolded when I was about 4-years-old, and one of my sisters, who is older than me by eight years, became a teenage mother. My mother and sister engaged in an array of colorful arguments, some of which escalated to physical violence. After the initial fury that my sister’s pregnancy unveiled, my mother decided to let Karen (my sister) move back into our house, not foreseeing the next conflict that was bound to arise.