My Family Essay

About 6 years ago my Shumway family had a reunion in Sedona under the red rocks and green leaves. This was our first reunion with every member of the family. We reserved several camp sites in the camp grounds and would gather in the dirt lot next to my family’s camper. My dad has seven sisters and one brother. Each of his siblings got married and had a few kids, blessing me with over forty-five cousins, just on the Shumway side. If you have ever seen my family, you know we are a rowdy bunch.…

located in Northern New Jersey. There I met my three best friends—girls with whom I have traveled, spent hours doing homework, and simply enjoyed being in company with. We grew up together in a predominantly Italian, close-knit, traditional neighborhood where our moms always watched over every one of us, teaching us the meaning of “community”. In my time of need, when my father passed away, le miei amiche and their families acted as and became my second family. They would each coordinate early…

Afghanistan and in 2012 the saddest event of my life happened. My dad moved to Germany. We always had this vision of moving to a safer and better place. Our lives were in great danger in Afghanistan firstly because my dad was an engineer, but mainly because he was working with the Americans. In an attempt to find a better life quality my dad moved to Germany. It was a really painful experience that effected on everybody in the family. As the second parent, my mom was the one who had to provide…

In early fourth grade, I moved to North Carolina from Florida with my dad. We moved in with my grandma and grandpa. We lived in a microscopic 2 bedroom apartment in a city called Cary. I was always very close to my grandma; she was like my second mom. I helped her cook and clean and we would occasionally watch Ellen together. Like glue, she was what kept our family together. In February of 2013, 5 months after moving, my grandma was having trouble eating. She would complain of her…

what is my cultural identity? I believe the things that make me who I am are my family, my faith, and my friends. My family is a big part of my cultural identity because they are the ones that taught me how to be the person I am today. I was born into a big, loving family. I have my parents who taught me how to be respectful to the people around me. I have two older half siblings, a brother named Blake and a sister named Blair, who I’ve grown up…

When I first met my step father I had a hard time understanding if I was supposed to like my step father or not. My older brother, Justin, always made it apparent that Chip, my step father, somehow managed to destroy our family, so my sister and I thought that was the case. My biological father first left our family when my sister, Erin, and I were only five years old. This made things a little hard when it came to growing up. My father was supposed to be my best friend, my hero; unfortunately…

When I was little I always thought about how my family back in Somalia were. Were they nice? Did they even know I existed? All my questions got answered during the summer of 2016 when I went to go visit my grandma. The day after we arrived my uncle wanted us to go and make bread (buur) in the sand. At first I was shocked but afterword’s I asked him “what! You want us to make bread in the sand? How is that even possible!” he laughed at me and replied with “Just wait and see.” The day finally came…

The way my topic represents heritage is about how of my family use different ways to celebrate holidays When I was little would go over to my grandmother house every year for every holiday. Before thanksgiving day my grandmother would call everyone’s household and tell them what dishes and they would have to cook. She would say that the dishes would need to be done by a certain amount of time; because we would always try to eat at the same time. For my household, it was mostly cupcakes because…

thought of my life or my family as "normal." My oldest sister and I were born to the same mother and different fathers. Even though we were not “full-siblings” we never considered it as such, therefore I grew up with a mother and two “fathers.” Furthermore, my household was multicultural, Puerto Rican on my biological father 's side, African-American, and Caucasian on my mother 's side. I constantly worked to balance and interconnect my multiple ethnicities and numerous assorted family values.…

to me because of what my parents had to go through to give us a proper education. My father had to leave my mother and flee because Saddam Hussein was after him, his brother and nephew. My mother had had just given birth to my youngest older brother, Durgham, when my father had to flee. My parents eventually met up years later in Nashville Tn. My father had to work three jobs just to provide for my mother and my brothers. Education is very important to me because of what my parents had to go…