Who do you consider as your family? Do they have to be blood-related to be considered as your family? I am a high school student and I believe that you do not have to be blood-related to be considered family. The definition of family is “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.” However, I think a family should mean more than just parents and children living together in a household. A family should have trust, love, understanding, sharing and caring, comfort, hatred, and most importantly, family time.
In my family, there are ten kids and my parents. I am the fourth child, third daughter born. As the fourth child, I am in charge of the younger siblings when the older three are busy. As the third daughter, I am in charge of making breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner as well as clean the house and do the remaining chores when the older two are busy. Since the older three are currently in college, I have the most responsibilities.
I consider my family as my family, even my pets. I have a rabbit, a goldfish, and a little garden of flowers indoors. I also consider them family because (1) my rabbit helps comfort me by relieving my stress just by petting her soft fur, (2) my goldfish helps remind me of what I had plan for my future so whenever I wonder why I live every day, my goldfish is there to remind me, and lastly (3) my little garden of flowers shows me how fast time flies when I start to think that time is too slow. Another thing I consider as family is my friends. My friends make me realize how the world outside is like. Whether it is shopping, walking to fast food shops after school or just going somewhere after school, dancing, school dances, meeting friends from other schools, or going to places late at night just to watch the stars and the moon, my friends has taught me the wild life. They were there at fun, depressed, serious, and crazy moments. Therefore, I do consider my family.
Everyone has something, or someone, to make them laugh. Everyone has experienced the moment of dying laughter. Everyone has happiness. For me, the things that make me laugh, are my imaginations, thoughts, and dreams. Those imaginations, thoughts, and dreams are caused by the people that make me laugh as well and those people are my family, my friends, and the people that are happy.
Just like laughing, everyone has a, or a few, thing(s) they are afraid of, whether it is a scary movie, ghost, their own imaginations, nightmares, or their own feelings. What I am mostly scared of is losing the people around me, especially my family. I am not a family person, but if I were to choose, I would choose my family in any situation. I am afraid to lose what I have now. It may benefit me if I lose what I have now, but it may not. I would not like to risk anything just for my future.
As I write this article about my feelings, my personal life, and my desires, I truly wish for others to know what they should value and that every day they are growing older. People should start to realize the value of what they have than the value of what they would like to have. Not everyone is perfect until they treat themselves properly.
Submitted by Youth-In-Training Writer, Evelyn Xiong who is a participant in the Girls on the Rise program managed by the Center for Community Health And Well Being, Inc. in Sacramento. Evelyn completed the “Intro to Social Media Journalism Training 101 for Teens” classes presented by Pleshette Robertson, Executive Director for Sac Cultural Hub Media Foundation at Mutual Housing Assistance in February in Sacramento that covered: dos and donts on your personal profile; how to share your story or quotes; when to share your political view and why; sharing your opinion in response to an issue or friend’s post; finding your voice, tone, and style on social media as well as and establishing your brand. If you, your school or your organization is interested in having Pleshette present these classes at your location for your group, e-mail contact@sacculturalhub.com.
