My Family

Family tends to be a very important thing in most people’s lives. For me, they’re extremely important, seeing as I chose to do a whole project about them. My family are my biggest supporters and they help to get me through the tough times. They’re always there when I need them and they want the best for me and want to see me succeed more than anything. In the short story you are about to read, I will be explaining my relationship with each family member and giving examples of things that they have said or done that have stuck with me or changed my point of view about certain aspects of my life.  

Somewhat obviously, I will write about my mom first. My mom’s name is Rachel and she was born and raised in Catawba, Ohio. She works as a customer service manager at Kroger in Beavercreek. My mom is a beautiful woman, both inside and out. She radiates positivity and kindness wherever she goes, and she does not want to see anyone feeling left out or uncomfortable. She works hard for what she wants, and she wants to see her children succeed and help any way she can. My mom tries to give the best advice that she sees fit, and one piece that always stuck with me was for me to not let the way that I see others affect the way that I see myself. She thinks that social media has played a huge role in the way that I see myself, and she does not want me to get down on myself because I don’t look like the girls that I see on Instagram. She has told me time and time again to surround myself with people who see my beauty and don’t get down on me, so that’s exactly what I did. Another piece of advice she gave me was to make friends with the right people, meaning people who understand what I go through and understand that I cannot have time for them and only them. She has brought up the fact that one of my friends was not very understanding of my life and schedule, so I asked her for advice on what to do about the situation. She suggested that I talk to the friend about it and if we couldn’t work something out then to drop her. Long story short, we couldn’t work something out and now that we aren’t close anymore, I can see what a negative effect that friend had on my life. The main thing that I learned from this experience is that my mom is typically right in situations, even if I don’t want her to be. She has lived longer than I have, and therefore has more experience in dealing with things, so I will continue to take her advice because I believe that it will help me to succeed. 

The next family member I will write about is my dad. My dad’s name is Brian and he grew up here in Springfield. He works as a carpenter and owns a business with my uncle. He is similar to my mom in the sense that they both work so hard to provide my brothers and me with everything we need. My dad wants the best for my brothers and me, and he wants nothing more than to see us excel. My dad is a great man, he’s just not the best at giving advice. He does not typically say what he is thinking or how he is feeling; he prefers to show it through his actions. I can probably count on both hands all the times in my life that he has actually given me verbal advice. One of those times, though, was when he told me that you need to be honest to yourself and those around you. My dad is a very honest person, and he tries to tell the truth even if it hurts. Unlike my mom, my dad won’t sugarcoat things for us and I greatly appreciate that. Because of my dad telling my brothers and me the truth most of the time, I have learned to recognize when people are lying to me. Similar to the earlier advice, my dad also has told me not to even put up with people who lie to you. If they do it once, they will easily do it again, and no one should have to put up with being blatantly lied to. I have taken this advice and it has helped me to see which people are deserving of my time, because I refuse to be in a one-sided relationship with anyone. 

Next, I will move on to my siblings. First, I have my brother Zach. He is a freshman here at Shawnee. He is involved in football, baseball, and wrestling. He also does 4-h and is involved with our church’s youth group. Zach acts like a mini version of my dad, and he is funny and sweet to people that aren’t his siblings. Covid has been difficult for him because he doesn’t learn well online and his grades aren’t great. Seeing as he is fourteen, he doesn’t have much experience with anything and so he isn’t great at giving advice. However, he once told me that I don’t need people in my life if they aren’t willing to put a little effort in. I took this advice and I have actually ended a few friendships because of it. Another piece of advice that he gave me was to keep some aspects of my life private. While this seems like common sense, it has helped me a few times. Sometimes I will see things that people post that are a little too personal, and I think about what Zach says about keeping things private and I appreciate it. 

Finally, I have my other brother Brandon. He is also a freshman at Shawnee. He is involved in baseball, wrestling, 4-h, and our church’s youth group. Brandon works hard for what he wants, but he also sometimes likes for things to be done for him. Some of the best advice that he has given me would have to be that if you’re good at something and you love doing it, don’t let anything stop you from doing it. In Brandon’s case, he is great at wrestling and he absolutely loves it. He quit football to focus on wrestling and to lower his chances of getting hurt before the season. He encourages me to do what I love the most, and because of him, I work hard in school so I will be able to go to college to get my dream job. 

Like I said earlier, my family is very important to me. Each and every one of them is special and unique in their own way. They all support me and love me through everything and they are always there for me. They give great advice and help me to become a better person, and for that I love and appreciate all of them with all my heart.