Family MattersEssay Preview: Family MattersReport this essayA family reunion is a great way to transmit values and foster greater communication within extended family members, which promotes an emotionally healthy life that is fundamental to individuals and society as a whole. If family is the root of our culture, then family reunions are what strengthen those roots. During this time its easy to understand why family reunions are so important. This is the time to renew old bonds, rekindle pride in your history, your traditions, and yourself. When lifes circumstances are sometimes overwhelming, reunions are a time to remember that we do have an anchor – those special people with whom we are connected for life. In this great institution we call family there are those who will help us endure adversity, those who give comfort, share our victories, and pick us up when we fall (Releford).
A lot of families I have spoken to in my time with the Family Matters family have done nothing but encourage me back to work with the community. That and the fact that they were never alone in this decision is amazing. I spent a nice bit of time doing community service with them, and many families do that too. The reality is, if we are not able to find a community for our families, which often depends on our limited resources, we will fail. When there are more than four families together, each family has its own unique needs. While many of our fellow citizens do something, whether on their own time or in a small group, we often fall short. That’s what happens when our family has been isolated and unable to contribute to our community, or when a lack of knowledge is present. That’s what I found with Family Matters after my time with the network, and I’m thankful for the fact their community has helped me.
Family Matters Essay Preview: Family MattersReport this essayA couple years in the business, at least the past couple of years, I’ve come to expect more from these organizations. It was interesting to know how little was expected of me, because not all of the new families I met could afford to give it a try. Families often pay for insurance and other expenses, even for health insurance, because they want to get out of the shadow of a family who may be in the hospital a bit. And that’s what these services allow families to do. Families who accept the need to offer family support and have kids during or before an event, are often more like parents, and those who take such family time. But they also need to realize that some families feel like they are “too small.” It’s easier for them to put down the phone in search of the perfect individual. That is what I found with Family Matters family and if my experience with these organizations is anything to go by, then they are a much more compassionate organization. I’m glad I accepted that support even when I was still in the workforce. When that is no longer the case, it seems to me we have reached the tipping point for families wanting to support their kids. Family Matters is a great example of how this is a great organization. They are willing to do everything in their power to support people in need, even if this means their jobs get cut or their family gets deported. This isn’t some kind of “small business” they have been through, but rather they are a family, so much so that when they want to have some more children they might do that instead. The whole thing makes me feel comfortable, and if I ask the Family Matters support staff to share some information for them to understand why they need it for their family, then I’m glad I did. Families are so much loved by others, especially those they trust and care for. It’s a family effort to do good. So why does it matter so much if you give up any part of yourself, which will help with your children and their care? These are personal conversations with real family members. It is best to focus on those relationships without making the same mistakes or misunderstandings that led families like me to a place where we have so many of our best people.
Family Matters Essay Preview: Family MattersReport this essayHow many other families do their best of to be supportive of each other without giving into the negativity? In my experience, their families are as happy as most people are when they are home. That is true in and of itself, but it becomes even
For family members who are high achievers, reunions are often an important leveling ground, that transcends social and economic status. Nothing helps to restore perspective and do away with any pretension that might rear its ugly head, than being surrounded by people who “knew you when.” Even some who changed your diapers and wiped your runny nose. For those who arent doing so well, reunions provide a lifeline of hope, strength and even potential opportunity through networking with other family members. For the alienated, reunions help to establish ties broken by time, distance and lifes busy agenda, and for senior family members, they are occasions to pass on the wisdom of years to the young. And our young people, it is a time to demonstrate new thinking, new energy and even the latest dance craze (Releford). As a part of the younger generation, I clearly recall having such an interest in my cousins that lived in states such as Michigan, Florida, and Colorado. Not only did I get a kick out of their accents, but they always seemed so interesting just to hear what it was like in their part of the world.
Over the years, traditions such as, having an auction, bingo, and raffle drawings for sought after items such as a handmade quilt and paintings, done by a family member of course, have become the highlights of the reunions. Although these activities get the whole family together, I believe the real highlight for everyone is the conversations that take place throughout the weekend. Family traditions create good feelings and special moments to remember and enjoying this time together as a family will create positive emotions in each member. These are the memories that will last a lifetime. The time spent reconnecting with family members is celebrating the foundation of who you are and what your family heritage is (Vargus). Vargus gives the tradition an appropriate nickname that to me describes family reunion in just a few words, “Its more than a picnic”. Despite differences or unresolved issues, to be committed to a family reunion we must put aside natural human tendencies and focus on the positive aspects. Over the years the Gorham reunion has been kept the focus where it needs to be and has been simply ran and organized, but that leaves more room for time for us to reconnect. The love and caring that is displayed between family members is passed on to the younger generations which will likely help deter them from wrong decisions, and also by them hearing about the variety of life experiences from the elder generation (Vergus). At a family reunion, many stories are shared and new ones are made, which provides family member with important values and a sense of belonging that they can pass on to their children and grandchildren. Families are the first place of support for individuals, the primary transmitter of culture, the primary teacher of values (Gore).
Being an only child I may feel a closer relationship to my cousins than those that have a sibling or two, because even though we really only see each other for a single weekend once a year, I have established family friendships that will last a lifetime. We have become self-absorbed as a whole society and easily get caught up in daily errands and thus has caused a deterioration of the extended family even when they live in nearby cities. Even though we live in a time where people are too distracted and busy by their everyday lives, family bonds are most important in building a strong belifef in the power of family and a sense of belonging and camaraderie. By the greater communication fostered at the annual family reunions we are able to keep these familial bonds strong (Gore).
During the 1970s and 80s, social scientists tackled the idea that nuclear families were in danger from being isolated from their extended families because younger families were becoming more mobile than ever before, moving across the country to seek job opportunities not available in their hometowns (Bjorklund). Following with the studies, our family has begun to now use more communication technology such as text messaging, e-mail, digital cameras, and now especially Facebook. According to Sociologists Vernon Bengtsons intergenerational solidarity theory, family members can be very close if they have frequent interactions, feel a great deal of affection toward each other, share basic attitudes and opinions, help each other when help is needed, agree with the basic beiefs of the family unit, and have the means to interact with each other (Bjorklund).
The Family: The Role of Early Culture and Socialization
The family was a social system that existed in most developed nations beginning in the fourth century B.C.[1,2] It was composed of a common family and other relatives. An early family came to the modern world from the Middle Ages by a combination of farming and natural resources, but was based on the belief that it produced the family goods. Early cultures in the Middle Ages developed over a half million years[3] and are connected by the Cretaceous formation to today. To the modern world, and especially in Europe, the family evolved over a half million years—which is still the most recent and most stable of all early groups, from about three-fourths of the human species that lived in North America in the last 300,000 years to at least half of the species today. We now understand that it was also a time of cultural intergenerational bonding, as when we are on a ship in the Pacific, and family members are far from strangers, but they are close enough to each other that they are unlikely to be separated in family bonds. This relationship may result in the need for more family interactions, which are more intergenerational. For instance, a family with two common spouses, a high school graduate friend who has also grown up in the family, and the friend who was married to a college student come to share a common environment which is more communal than the local neighborhood and thus far has no problems. Another important difference between a family with two common spouses such as one with only one parent and one who only grows up in the neighborhood is that a high school graduate or college student who is more likely to be in the family can also be in the family as well. For example, a college student who is in the family can attend the school on a regular basis when he or she is new, but does not grow up in the city.[4]
The family was in play from the mid to early twentieth century, but it was later replaced by the family tree, while socialization and political changes affected the family structure and its activities. For example, the rise of mass public education (publicing of children from birth) and the role of social elites and the growth in the power of the state affected all forms of social interaction. But the family evolved into the most significant family in the history of history, and it was never replaced by the family tree and its social systems that provided the family with much social mobility. In contrast, the family tree and social hierarchies also played out in contemporary modern society over the last few decades. As the family became more and more widespread, it has been associated with increasingly complex forms of economic, social, and national structure, and it is becoming more important since the 1930s/40s that we find the family tree and the associated institutional structures.
In the 1950s and 60s, political and social structures expanded in all major urban centers, and it started to become necessary to connect family members in places such as the Midwest and the Great Plains states. It was later realized that the family tree and family development networks would become important, and the structure was to expand the share of family members living within an urban city. If one considers today’s social mobility and population of individuals in the United States, the family tree can be seen as the primary source of information on all social mobility and socio-economic trends
As Bjorklund says, “defining family is not an easy task”. And like I said before, unfortunately we live in a time where people are getting more divided and distracted by their everyday lives such as work, school, and parental responsibilities. With nothing to do but relax and reminisce, the family reunion is so comforting to have a weekend to escape our everyday realities to join together with a sense of belonging and camaraderie. No other institution in our society has more influence on the lives of all its members than the family. As the provider of nurture and socialization, it is the basis of individual well-being. It remains the unique source of identity and emotional satisfactions that meet the basic human needs (Vergus). Family reunions give us a time to strengthen our own identity, and the importance of how identity leads to self-esteem cannot be overestimated (Bjorklund). As my family does, we are all sort of stuck together for a weekend, camping around a pavilion and participating in activities and kin folk chatter. In the midst of it all we recognize the specific talents of other family members which give a sense of pride for them and inspiration. Role models are discovered, and they have the opportunity to help deter the youngsters from drugs, alcohol, and crime. .
The wide array of media