concept revision

Family Revision 1

Biological relatives are only the tip of the iceberg when you talk about family. There are many other people who you can consider your family, and there are deeper meanings to the word. If you can understand the effect that your family has on you, you can distinguish the people in it. Your entire being is created by the people around you. Weather it’s your parents, grandparents, aunts. Uncles, and cousins, or the people you choose to put around you. In an article from the American Journal of Sociology, Professors Timothy Elblarz, and Adrian Raferty state that;” Children from single-father families and stepfamilies have consistently had lower attainments than children from both two-biological-parent and single-mother families.” ajs Volume 105 Number 2 (September 1999): 321–65. This shows a perfect example of what I mean. Obviously, your parents have the largest impact, because there who you learn how to make decisions from. Even so, everyone else in your life affects your personality as well.
Most groups see family as just blood relatives. I strongly disagree with that concept. Family is anyone who takes care of you, is honest with you, and you feel comfortable with. This includes best friends, team mates, band members, step parents, and so many more people. Sometimes I don’t count some of my blood relatives as my family. My Biological grandfather has never been in my life. He was never in my mother’s either. I don’t see him as family. My grandmother did remarry in 1992, and her husband since then I see as my true grandfather. He has been there since I was born, and even though he is technically my mother’s step father, he is considered blood. If you have a step father who has taken care of you more then your Biological father, wouldn’t that make him your “real” dad? Another group people don’t think about is your parent’s friends. II only have 3 aunts and uncles who are related to my parents, but there are a bunch of people I call my aunts and uncles, because they have been around my whole life. I see there kids as my cousins.
Your friends are a big part of your family. They are always there for you. Friends help you get through your problems, and you feel comfortable enough to be yourself with them. Most people spend the most curtail part of their life, adolescence with their friends. So friends are with you when you develop a sense of self, more then your relatives are. My best friend, and his parents, and brother, have all become part of my family. He is like my brother, and his parents are like my second set of parents. One year I was at their house more then I was at mine. Friends are a big part of your family.
Significant others play a big role in family as well. Whether you are 17 years old with a girlfriend, or you have been married for 50 years, that person has a similar role. They are the person who knows you the best. You tend to open up to that person the most. For the most part you share your home with them. They also help you start another part of your family. Kids and their family become your family. I have been with my girlfriend for 2 years and we have both become parts of each other’s families.
Family encompasses many people, and feelings. Anyone that you care about, and you feel comfortable with, and trust can be family. Your relatives and friends have the biggest influence on your personality, and your decision making. You may not be able to pick your relatives, but you can pick the rest of your family, but choose wisely.