My Family As An Extended Family

I was fortunate enough to grow up with my extended family, which is pretty large considering my dad has six siblings and my mom is one of eight siblings. Family has become a pretty central part of my life because many of my aunts and uncles on my mom’s side lived on the same street in Philadelphia, PA for years, and so we all grew up together. My cousins and I would spend the day together outdoors and every night we would all meet up for family dinners at my grandparents’ house. After a few years though, my nuclear family and I, consisting of my parents and my older brother, moved to New Jersey. My grandparents instilled in us the importance of spending quality time with one another whenever the opportunity presented itself, and they always reminded us that nothing in life was guaranteed, and that none of us could predict what tomorrow would hold. Because of the increased distance, and as we all got older and our lives got busier, members of my extended and nuclear families had to make more of a conscious effort to set aside a day every now and then so we could all spend time together. For example, every Thanksgiving and Christmas we have a family potluck at alternating houses, and on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July we have barbeques together. It’s easy to make excuses to skip our family events, but none of us ever miss them because these interactions we have with

My grandparents raised me when I was young because my parents were busy toiling away at work to support my siblings and I. Through my grandparents, I learned strength. My grandfather, a former political activist and soldier in Vietnam, suffered a gigantic loss: Losing the Vietnam war. Still, he refused to kneel under the hand of oppression. He restarted his life in a brand new, foreign country with seven children,

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.

Though they were not always there throughout my childhood, they still did a decent job raising me up. This family shaped me to be the person I am today. They guided my way through my teenage years, they prepared me to faced the real world at the young age, and they taught me to be

There have been countless influential people in my life that I’ve come across. One who was a meticulous inspiration continues to be my grandfather. My grandmother had remarried to the one I call “grandpa” when I was at the age of five, and they both took to each other’s grandchildren as their own. With my mother and me only living a mile down the road from their farmhouse out in the country, I’d spent heaps amount of time there as a child. Indeed, I had been without a father but my grandfather stepped up to the plate and had taken me under his wing and willingly played the personification of a father figure.

If you're the mother of an African-American child then you'll appreciate my struggle. You know the one of washing and combing your African-American child's hair. Madison was born with a head full of hair and the older she got, the thicker it became. Our hair is characterized by numbers, with the higher number, the kinkier the hair is. Like most of my kids, Madison has different textures throughout as we're a mixture of heritage. My maternal great-grandmother was European from Portugal, while my paternal side of the family are Carib Indians who originate from the Caribbean, so while she does have kinky hair, it's also curly with looser curls. Nevertheless, it can be hard to manage especially after washing. You may remember me saying that I very

What do individuals think of when they hear the term First Family? Normally people think of the President, his wife, and their children, but it can be much more extensive. In the book First Family by David Baldacci, Pam Dutton, sister of the First Lady, is murdered. Pam’s daughter, Willa, is kidnapped during the attack on the Dutton family. Tuck, father of the Dutton family, is badly injured in the attack. The Secret Service provides little protection to relatives to the President, so the Dutton family is an open target. Two detectives who arrive at the crime scene while the crime is taking place take upon the investigation. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are appointed to investigate the crime under the orders of the First Lady. The title is

My family has been super strong and almost inseparable throughout my life because we have had to move so mnay times, it has brought us closer together. My homes over the years all been pretty nice, but not like the multimillion dollar houses, but the middle-class houses. I've been able to grow up with pets in my houses, cats, dogs, guinea pigs, and multiple fish.

     Due to the fact that my father was now on his own and trying to raise three children (my older brother from my father’s first marriage), he had to take a different position at his work. Although he was getting a raise it wasn’t necessarily a good thing. He had to start working the night shift so he could get the raise. He didn’t really have a choice in the matter and because of this new change, I began to lose valuable time with him as well. It was now up to my brother to watch over us at night and make sure we got to bed on time. If there was any trouble or and problems in general, my brother would call my grandmother. For three years my dad worked that job and every night he would stay up after he got home to see us. He would make my sister and I breakfast and make we were off to school on time. This meant the world to me because no matter what he always made time for us.

Growing up my family was always very close. We were always together; whether it was going to church or going to the ball field. My mother raised me as a single mother. She would work a lot of hours at work and my grandparents would watch me. They would take me to school and ball practices. Where sometimes my mom could not make it, she would always tell my grandparents to tell me something

I went from a single father to a wholesome family who actually ate dinner together and liked to hug and talk about their feelings. My world shifted upside down. This realization opened my eyes, and my heart. My father dying taught me to understand that many people with a hard outer shell are most likely being held back on the inside by something that has affected them. His death taught me to appreciate everyone and show kindness because that is what was shown to me during my time of need. My youthful family who adopted me, did not expect for me to feel like a part of a family or call them my parents. They got me counseling and showed me the affection that I needed to cope. Without these generous deeds, I would have crumbled. I believe whole heartedly that showing appreciation for those who also walk on this earth, like my parents did for me,will help anyone get through a rough day with a

Throughout my life, I have been extremely family-oriented as I have luck enough to get to know my grandparents and various cousins. My grandpa was my role model and introduced me to fishing and camping. After I joined Boy Scouts, he hoped to attend trips with the troop and gave me his tent and bought me camping gear at Christmas time. Watching how

To start things off I lived in one big house with my Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Grandma and Grandpa up until I was about thirteen. When I was little I thought I had the most perfect family every, or at least that’s what I wanted to think. I would spend most of my afternoons with my Grandpa at the park or getting ice cream. He would always be the one encouraging me to go church and pray. He’s also the one who wanted me to be in private schools. The rest of my family followed

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

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