Shefali Definition Essay

On top of this, my parents always specifically looked up to me for being a leader in the house. The reason for this is, my parents knew very little English, and needed assistance with almost everything they would do. Also, I am the first child; the child that has to fall and learn from the mistakes without any older siblings advice or wisdom. Because of this, I make sure that once I learn the most efficient and effective ways of doing tasks, I then pass it down to my younger siblings. I make sure that they learn from my mistakes and accomplishments, while doing my best to lead them in the right direction to attain

Growing up, I did not like my name because I strongly believed it was too short and awkward sounding. I did not see how the name Nadia could be pleasing to the ear or likable at all. The worse part, I thought, was not having a nickname to hide my

To produce this book, I asked not “What you are going to name your baby?”, but rather “What is your name? How does it make you feel? Who named you? Why did they choose that name? Would you change

In our home every child is expected to do his or her part, but being the oldest meant carrying a weightier load of responsibility

The oldest child plays an inimitable role in the structure of her family. She has a propensity to be confident and often craves her independence at an early age. She sets the standard for her younger siblings and realizes that her actions are observed closely by impressionable eyes. This accountability often instills in her a drive to act in a respectable and responsible manner. As the oldest child in a family of eight, I have been persistent in regarding these characteristics and have enabled them to shape my identity.

In life, we have two types of roles assigned and assumed. Our assigned roles are the roles we are given that we do not have a say in and assumed roles are those roles that we choose to take on in life. The roles I was assigned in life are being a female who is the youngest daughter in a family with four children. The way these roles affected my view on the world is that for the longest time I always felt that I had to be a certain way because that is what my family taught me to be. For example, since I was born a girl growing up in my family I had to help clean the house, do laundry and cook. I was taught that it was my responsibility as a woman to do these things and it was a requirement if I ever wanted to get married. It was very difficult for me to try and balance what my family taught me to be and the person I wanted to be. I did want to care for a family one day but I did not want that to be all that I was. I wanted to have it all both a family and work life balance. For a long time, I felt I was being tugged in two different directions in terms of what was expected from me. Furthermore, being the youngest girl in the family there was always a lot of pressure put on me to make the right choices. I had to always be the responsible one. My sister was the oldest so she was almost expected to make mistakes but as for me being the youngest, I should have used my sister as a model of what mistakes I should not make and learn from her. Granted I have been assigned roles in my life however, the roles I assumed are a mother, the strong person in my family, and the dependable one. Being a mother has had a big impact on what I do in life. Every decision I make is in consideration of what is in the best interest of my son. I am not the same person I was before I had my son because I had to change myself so that I was a good role model for him. The other roles I have assumed

My name means “industrious” or “hardworking.” I am determined and meticulous, and although also a procrastinator, I always get things done on time and to the best of my ability. I believe in leading by example, that sometimes the best leaders are the ones who listen more than they speak, that sometimes voicing your own opinion is not that important. I am an ISFJ personality. We are known as “the defenders.” I believe in protecting what you love, and so my family always comes first (most importantly my little sister).

Popularity, bright light, goddess. That’s what my name means in English, or at least that’s what Google says. My parents said they chose the name Ella because they loved it. I guess great minds think alike because I love the name too. Ella- its so free and open. It’s like the rush you get when you soar over a 3’6 oxer in the jumper ring. Ella is also sweet, unique, and special, like a ice cold glass of sweet tea on a hot summer day. On one hand it’s pretty, pink, and blingy, but on the other it’s wild, free, sassy, and has a mind of it’s own. Ella- it’s got that southern sass and class.

My family started assigning me with more responsibilities such as taking care of my brother along with my cousins after school. This entailed helping them do their homework, feeding them, and entertaining them. I thought this was somewhat a difficult task because they would easily get in arguments which meant I had to take charge and rather solve their problem or explain to them that it's not worth fighting over a toy and that they should learn to share. For example, one day they were fighting over who would get to ride a scooter first and Allison argued that she found the scooter first and then Jason explained that he was older one. After a few minutes of them arguing we finally concluded that it would only be fair that the one that found

Alone, with limited adult guidance, my brothers and I, each seven years apart, had no one to look up to. I am the eldest of the three and although they call me older sister, there are times where I am seen as mother to them. My brothers and I have an inseparable relationship because we spend most our days at home while our mother works to support our family. As a result, I try my absolute best to make life at home easier for her by taking leadership and responsibilities over my brothers.

My family’s dynamic played a significant role in my overall emotional development. I was reared in a single-family household with my mother, sister, and brother. My father was estranged as he abandoned our family when I was about twelve years old. Subsequently, my mother became extremely dependent upon me. She worked profusely as a result of a lack of financial support from my father and because I was the oldest it was my responsibility to assume the primary caregiver role. When my mother was at work I was solely responsible for taking care of my sibling. Often, in my family the expectation of the oldest child was to support and be an authoritative figure over the younger siblings. I often felt overwhelmed while taking care my younger siblings

Being the oldest of three, I am expected to set the example, something I fear I'll fail at. I believe this fear comes from the thought of not being able to meet my parents', especially my dad's, high expectations. They give me the responsibility of caring for my two younger sisters and maintaining things around the house.

As the first child in the family, I believe this is one of my biggest identities. I am the oldest of four kids, I have always felt as if I needed to set the bar really high for my siblings to follow in my footsteps. I never want my siblings to ever regret something they did or didn’t do, my biggest motto is, “If you want something, go work for it, it will mean so much more.” In high school and even now I am very involved, I have always thought before acting, if my family would approve of what I’m doing right now. My biggest fear is getting in trouble or having my family ashamed of me. I try to avoid all situations where these options could be possible. During high school, I feel as if I encountered a period of moratorium, it was not easy to tell my friends, “no”. Many of my friends would go drinking, doing drugs or illegal things in general. A part of me wanted to do all these “fun” things because my friends were doing it, but I never thought twice after picturing the results of the cops or punishment even from my parents. I saw my friends make some mistakes they wish they could take back, I didn’t want to be that role model in my siblings life. My littlest brother is only six, so he is very observant in everything we do because we are all different ages. Anything we do, he tries to copy. School doesn’t come easy to any of us kids, I was always studying and doing homework at nights after all my activities. My

In English my name means sea. It means lively and adventurous. It is like the number 27. The bright color of the Caribbean ocean on a radiant day. My name means jeep rides and beach trips with my best friend.

In the beginning, I only knew the life of the spoiled baby in the family. Then five years down the road, came a nine pound bundle of sickness. As a baby my little brother Matthew was in and out of hospitals. The sickly baby was not the only thing my parents made, along with the baby came jealousy and competition. So from going to getting most of mom and dad’s attention, to getting virtually none, my life began to get pretty difficult as a five year old. Instead of spending the weekends at home with my family, I spent them wondering when I would get to see my mom and dad again. Getting bossed around by my older sister, Hannah and my older brother, Jacob, made me miss them even more. After seeing Matthew in the hospital I felt guilty for being jealous of all of the attention he was getting. But I was 5,and dumb. At this time, everything I knew about my family was changing. I had to learn to be a little more independent and at the same time be someone people could depend on.