Definition #7: Family

December 8, 2009 by binkybinky

Family is…

…These two people. They are my family, and they mean absolutely everything to me. I believe that people who come from a happy family try to replicate that when they start their own. The once who are not so lucky and have not had a great family life growing up strive for perfection. I know I do. My look represents the times I enjoy with my family most, like going on a hike or spending a day at the beach. – Prima Dona, United States.

Family:

…I have a very unorthodox family, but I still find a comfort in doing certain things with them that I normally wouldn’t with others. Family is laughing together, honesty, vulnerability, a desire to be good, feasting, and puppies of course! All that being said, family isn’t necessarily related by blood. The idea of family is versatile and sometimes I feel like I’m closer to my family of friends or boyfriend than with my actual folks. – Dolores Haze, United States.

Family is…

…Turkey, roaring fires, everyone round the dining table, christmas trees. I could go on as to what family means to me, but at this time of year, I think it’s best put by the lyrics of the Christmas Song.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping on your nose,
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And folks dressed up like Eskimos.

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe,
Help to make the season bright.
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow,
Will find it hard to sleep tonight.

They know that Santa’s on his way;
He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh.
And every mother’s child is going to spy,
To see if reindeer really know how to fly.

And so I’m offering this simple phrase,
To kids from one to ninety-two,
Although its been said many times, many ways,
A very Merry Christmas to you… – Miss Nifty, United States.

Family is…

…A basic social unit. I can remember how many times my sociology professor would repeat this clinical definition that I think he just completely lost touch of what family really means.

For me a family is sacred. It is where human beings are born into, nurtured and raised. Much of a person’s influence and values growing up come from their family.

It is the strongest bond that exists. When you lose contact with friends, they become mere acquaintances and sometimes just a distant memory. But when you lose contact with family, they will still be your father, mother, brother, sister, etc.

I am lucky to have a nice loving family, albeit dysfunctional sometimes. So when people say you can choose your friends but not your family, well I will never choose another family over mine — EVER! Love you guys!

My inspiration for this look is the extraordinary Mitford Sisters. Despite their political differences, they were still, at the end of the day, a FAMILY. – Historie Girl, United Kingdom.

Family:

Family. I’ve given much thought to this and how to define it. Many would look at the illustrations of Norman Rockwell and assume that this is the example to attain. But, the question that keeps rattling around in my head is, ‘Who is my brother’? And although I have a nuclear family with all it’s joy and dysfunction, there is a family of man just outside my window that I am compelled to care about and embrace. To do that will require a concentrated effort on my part…and begs the question, do I really want to leave the comforts of home.

“The great city can teach something that no university by itself can altogether impart: a vivid sense of the largeness of human brotherhood, a vivid sense of man’s increasing obligation to man; a vivid sense of our absolute dependence on one another.” ~Seth Low (Miss Bea Heyvin, United States)

Family is…

…Anyone who loves you back. My extended family includes my friends. My look is inspired by a family picnic. – Jen1987, United States.

Family is…

…The glue that holds society together. Families are funny. They share secrets, see you at your worst, your best. A family gives you a definition: a mother, daughter, wife, son, father, sister, brother, husband. Your role is the most important job you have.

A family may be different in every way, but the love is still pure. A family should protect you, respect you, and give you the tools to be successful in life. They will judge you, gossip about you, treat you like crap, but in the end always be in your corner. – HarperLeo, United States.

Family is…

…What defines me, it’s part of my identity and one of the most important aspects of my life. As a child I always found comfort in hanging out with my parents, as a teenager I found identity when I used to step away from them and look for my independence, and now as an adult I find myself loving their mannerisms so much more. I thank them for the things they provided for me as a child, and I look forward to one day being that same source of strength they were to me in my young age. – Badrouchka, Morocco.

Family is…

…Something you create not something you are given. All immediate families have their dysfunctional qualities (some more than others) which push them apart or in some ways make them stronger, but I believe a family is bigger than the immediate nuclear unit. I consider my closest friends my family because they have loved and cared for me, without being related to me, they have seen me at my best and worst and never stopped (or maybe sometimes briefly) being my friend – and my family. Family doesn’t care if you are having a bad day they comfort you. Family doesn’t care if you complain too much, they warn you. Family is there when you need them most, and my best friends are always there when I need them.

The wonderful thing about family is that, one day the process regenerates itself. All our friends break off and start their own families and we watch more friendships grow and create new bonds. Family is always changing, motile and moving. Family is what we make it. – Allie Harriet, Australia.