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The first thing that comes to mind when I think of family is loved ones. I agree with Mrs. Arola when she says that the stereotypical family is a heterosexual white family and their kids. I come from the stereotypical American family, however, I do not think race matters, nor do I think having kids is something required to be qualified as a family. In her case, I would say her and her husband alone are a family. The fact that they are loved ones qualifies them as a family in my book. I would include all relatives into the loved ones category.
Also, I do not believe family does not have to include immediate family. For example I have multiple friends who I would consider as family because they fit into the category of loved ones. In addition to friends, I would say I am part of a family of teammates. Team sports have multiple similarities to immediate families. Successful teams have people sacrificing for each other, communication, trust, honesty, and bonds that form just like successful families have.
I, like Mrs. Arola, want people to rethink what family is. Family does not have to include a mother, father, and kids. Race does not matter either. There are plenty of families who are not in the stereotypical category that display the same love as the stereotypical families. I believe if a group of people or even two people show characteristics of a family, then they are a family. The holidays seem to put an importance on kids and relatives, but as long as there are the characteristics of a family like love and compassion, the number of people should not matter. My advice for people is to think about the people in their lives who are important to them whether they are a part of their immediate family or not, and ask themselves if they feel like those people feel like family.
David Sacre (323 words)
I definitely agree that the term family should not be solely thought of as being immediate family, but that a family can be found in almost every every place. From distant relatives to childhood friends, family can come in many shapes and forms. That being said, I think a lot of people, myself included, might differentiate from a general family to a family that one could call their own, such as immediate family. An example being that even though someone may consider their sports team a family, there is most certainly a difference between them and the person's own child and such. This unfortunately puts those that cannot have children or an immediate family, for whatever reason, in a awkward situation, like the one described in Mrs. Arola's essay. It would be nice if the way everyone thought of the word family and what that entails could be changed to include families such as Arola's but unfortunately these kinds of shifts in society would take quite a long time, and have the possibility of never actually happening.
ReplyDelete-Matthew S.
Word Count: 177
Yes, it’s very true that the word family is the type of word that has a very stereotype of definition. Most people do assume that family are people who are a part of your blood line. So i agree with you all the way. Family does not have to be blood related. It could be your beloved pet who has become a part of your family and also even just the people in your life that matter the most. Family is a word that could be many ways. You don’t have to be a straight white caucasian family with kids to be considered one. Having children is not what makes your family whole. It’s mainly just surrounding yourself with people who you love the most and always want around. It’s almost absurd to me that people would look at it any other way. It can’t be based off race, religion, or even children. That’s not what family is. To me the Kristin Arola had a very bitter intake on the word and most people don’t feel that way and its unfortunate that she does feel that way.
ReplyDeleteJessica Edenburn