Family

Demonstrating the diversity of family forms.

In my opinion, I feel that many people nowadays have their own definition of what a family consist of. However, advertisements, television shows, movies and books give us a different sense of what a family should be. It is portrayed as the nuclear family, consisting of a father, mother and their biological children. Out of curiosity I looked up the dictionary meaning to the word family and this is what I got;
a. A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.
b. Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.

As for me, my definition of family means relatives and the people who I hold closest to my heart. But if someone were to ask me in terms of parents and siblings, I would say my family is my mother and my sister. Our family consists of three people. My mother married my father in El Salvador where I was born. They separated months after, then my mother and I moved to New York when I was 8 months old. Technically my mother is still married to my father but have no relationship. She is currently in a relationship with her boyfriend and living under the same roof in other words cohabitation. Nonetheless, she introduces him as her husband even though they are not married because they can’t legally.

When asking my friends about what family meant to them, the majority of them said the people who live under the same roof whom they have shared their entire life with. From the ten friends that I asked, three of them were raised and still live with both parents (Mom and Dad). Four of them have parents who are separated and have extended family on each side. Yet one of them does not consider her fathers children family because she doesn’t associate with them. She goes on by saying, “I don’t see or talk to my step sister or brother, maybe on holidays. I know little about them and don’t share the same relationship like the one I share with my sister who I grew up with therefore I can’t really say they are family.”

The other three are living with their foster family. One of them lives only with her foster mother and has no recollection of a male father figure present in her life. Two of them are not only my friends but also my God brothers. They were raised by their foster parents and no nothing other than them as their family. Their parents who are also my God parents helped my mother raise my sister and I, for this reason I consider them family. Believe it or not, I consider them more family than my biological father because they raised me as though I were their own blood.
I honestly was not surprised at the results I got from my friends. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me. Nowadays there are more single parents working and raising children on their own. However, you can still come across some households who portray the ‘traditional’ family. Therefore, it’s nice to know that there are couples who can maintain a relationship and family with their spouse but its great when a single mother or father doesn’t give up on their children and raise them on their own, my opinion of course. I speak only from experience.