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5 Ways My Family Has Shaped Me

5 Ways My Family Has Shaped Me

From an early age I knew that family was important and that it should be cherished. As a young child, I thought everybody had a large, loving, involved family and it broke my young heart when I learned that it wasn’t the case. My family has taught me a lot of lessons, including various preventive teaching lessons, but everything can be summed up in these five basic lessons.

My Family Has Allowed Me To Be Myself

If you want to see the real me, put me in the midst of my family. In their midst I become happier, crazier, calmer, and an overall better person. I know that I’m a better person when I’m with them because they allow me to be my true self and I don’t have to be afraid that I won’t be liked.

My Family Has Taught Me How To Laugh At Myself

When you come from a large family there is usually at least one—if not more—witness to your failures or mishaps. It just can’t be avoided and usually their witness involves a lot of laughing at your expense. Because most of the time it was never done in a mean spirited way, it provided an environment where I could learn that messing up doesn’t mean that I’d be loved less and that whatever happened wasn’t really that terrible.

My Family Has Taught Me That Family Identity Is Important

It’s the strangest thing being somewhere and having a strange come up to me and say, “Oh, you’re an ____,” or “You must be so and so’s sister. I can see the family resemblance.” In fact, just recently traveling with my sister (who I don’t think looks a ton like me, but, then again Facebook and Google think she does) everywhere we went people said, “You must be sisters.” I’m not just an individual I’m part of a family identity and what I do not only reflects on myself but also on my family.

My Family Has Taught Me That They’ll Be There For Me

Growing up we were expected to support the other family members. That support hasn’t changed as we’ve gotten older. We still rally for big—and small—life moments and we make the distance work. I know that my family will ALWAYS have my back. They’ve helped me fight important battles and support me on those battles I need to fight alone.

My Family Has Taught Me That I’m Awesome

I wish I could say that I had confidence in myself 100% of the time. I haven’t. But my family and parents have taught me so many lessons, including parenting lessons. Their confidence has been the rock I can rely on when I had those moments of self-doubt and knowing they believed in my made it easier for me to believe in myself.