Family and Values

Family is a big word to unpack since the word "Family" is used so loosely, for example, I can be labeling my best friend as part of my family since we're so close. In comparison, how David M. Newman explains that in everyday usage, people may use the word family more loosely to describe those with whom they've achieved a significant degree of emotional closeness and sharing, even if they're not related. Although I may see it that way, I also believe that family is when you're blood related to one another. I think it's interesting when some people say that "Blood" is thicker than "Water," meaning that family is stronger than friends. However, from this example, I could agree and disagree with it.

Furthermore, a family are those who lives under the same roof together. However, it is a different story when you're living in the same roof with  roommates/friends since you're not blood related to them in any way. Adding on, in my opinion, a family is made up of family members who don't have to worry about who they are in front of each other. Society, such as local, state, and federal governments, also define family by managing many programs that provide certain benefits only to groups they officially define as "families." In addition, every family has their own values, depending on how your parents were raised, your family may have different values. On another note, I believe your culture and religion also plays a major role on how you are towards each other. For example, in my family, they value a daughter who studies hard in school and focuses on family. Rather than letting me explore the world and different cultures, my parents would prefer me to stay at home and explore my culture, such as, learning how to cook our traditional meals and learning more about my religion. Like I said, culture and religion plays a big role in my parents values is because in my culture, another man's family would be more willing to agree on marriage of a woman who know's how to cook and clean.

Above is a video that I think would be interesting to watch, although Hmong people don't have a particular food of their own, we like to combine foods from different Asian groups into our own. It is a video showing how to make Kapoon. This is one of our traditional dish that we would usually cook for celebrations, although there are many more meals to learn. To the right is a photo of my mom, me,  and my younger siblings on Christmas. Moreover, my family values privacy between one another but also to be there for one another when they're in need. Although it may be tough being family, and everyone has their up's and down's, we were taught to stick together through the end. If you think about it, it is like a chain reaction, once one goes down we all go down together but we support and rely on each other to get back up!