family
When the word family comes into mind or pops up i think of family as someone that would always be there for you and someone that has been there for you since day 1. Family doesn't have to be purely biological but the biological ones are the ones you can usually always count on. I think a family is best defined as people that you can trust going both ways, respect going ways, loyalty going both ways, and commitment to one another. There are no limitations on what a family can be. I think just as long as that person you call family is there to support you through thick and thin. Passive-congenial and conflict-habituated marriage types don't fit into my definition as a family. Passive-congenial marriage lacks the building blocks of one another but they do protect and support but financially not emotionally. Lastly, conflict-habituated marriage offers none of the three aspects that go with being in a 'family.' Marriage i guess makes you a family but giving up your last name for your significant other is a very big step and marriages show that kind of commitment. Family isn't as easy as one living with another for a long period of time its about the commitment, support, and love for one another.
I couldn't agree with your post anymore. I too believe that family doesn't necessarily have to be biological, thats just nature tying us together -some people take it for granted. Sometimes I feel like conflict-habitual marriage brings a family closer and makes them stronger, depending how they get by on the situation. Support and love are the main keys to a family, not a successful but a stable family. For myself, my close, chosen, and selective few of friends are most definitely my family. It may sound harsh but I love my friends more than anything, we commit to each other like a marriage. I am pretty sure we all do it every now and again -I'm not alone. :)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement "FAMILY DOESN'T HAVE TO BE PURELY BIOLOGICAL". Though the first people that pops into my mind when family is mentioned is my blood related family, there are some people who have been fortunate enough to have discovered people who are more like a family to them than their own family. Being able to find people you can truly trust and nearly completely depend on is an amazing feat in my opinion. Also, I support your statement when you say a conflict-habituated marriage does not provide a family. I would rather live in a family without parents than in a family with parents in a conflict-habituated marriage. Living in that type of family would not even be a family. It would be just be a fight for survival by depending on people out of desperation. There would be no commitment, support, and love that is required in my definition of a family.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement 100% when you say that family does not have to be purely biological. When I think of my family, I do think of my blood relatives, but I also think of other people, like my best friend. I believe that family does not mean that you have to be related by blood or marriage, family is people that are always there for you no matter what. Family does not have to be biological at all. I also agree with your statement that a conflict-habituated marriage does not form a family. A family like that is not even really a family. It seems to me that it would be much easier and more of a family to have only one parent in the home than have parents who are always fighting and creating a hostile environment.
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