Hi everyone!
I'm not much of a blogger, so if I'm here doing it, I know you students can also. Following in Kathryn's steps, I have some questions that I hope will help us all get to know each other a little better. Since this class is about family, I'd like to know about your families :) Specifically, how big is your family? Do you have siblings? Who did you grow up with? The second part of what I want to know has more to do with your family tree. Where did your family come from originally? What other countries or cultures are represented in your history? Feel free to share as much or as little as you want, since most of this information will come up again throughout the course.
Dig in guys, I can't wait.
This blog is for the “Legacy of the Family Story" course taught by Kathryn Collison in the University Honors Program at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, USA. It provides an easily accessible, electronic space for 100-level Honors students to discuss texts and ideas, develop critical thinking skills, and practice college level writing. While anyone may read our work, only class members may post.
13 comments:
I have always had a big family on both sides. My parents are divorced so I get to split my time between them equally. My mom"s family is originally Scottish but have lived in the Midwest, specifically Illinois, where she was born. My dad is from Amman, Jordan, and so is the rest of my immediate family on his side. They all speak arabic fluently of course, and I, along with my siblings are learning. Speaking of siblings, I have one older sister, who actually is living in Jordan this semester and twin younger brothers that are 15. Also, I have three step siblings and a half brother. I love having a big family, there is always someone around, I wouldn't trade them for the world!
I have always had a pretty big family on both my mom and dad's sides. I have a ton of cousins which makes family get togethers interesting. I am the youngest of four girls in my family. I grew up in Belen along with my sisters and most of my cousins. My dad's side of the family comes from Spain while my mom's side is from France. My dad's side of the family speaks Spanish fluently and although I've attempted to learn, I still can't speak the language. I love having such a close-knit family. It makes everything easier having them around.
The two sides of my family are polar opposites. My mom's side is relatively small and more conservative. While, my dad's side is huge, loud and wild. The only thing both sides of my family have in common is that they both descended from Spain. Once I read the blog topic, I asked my mom about our family's origin and I found out that my great-grandmother was Irish.
I only have one brother and he is 22. He is one of the most amazing people I know. My parents have been divorced since I was 2 and my brother was the constant figure in my life. I have a step- sister who is 15 and step-brother who is 26; however, I do not know them very well.
I have a fairly large family on both my mom's and my dad's sides. My mom is one of nine children, so I have a lot of cousin's on my mom's side. My dad is the second oldest of four. Both of my parents grew up in Albuquerque, as did my siblings and I. I'm the youngest of three at 18. My older sister is 23 and my half brother is 28. My dad is African-American and my mom is Hispanic. I'm close with most of my family and they are a great source of support for me.
In my family it's just me, my twin sister, our parents, and our dog. None of my extended family lives close to me, so they weren't a major feature of my life growing up. Visits to the family were a big deal, though; they meant plane rides and new books, trips to the library with Gram and experiencing the time warp that is the Midwest.
I am an uber-immigrant combo: My mom's side of the family is Italian and my dad's is Irish. Both live in the Chicagoland area. We've found the Ellis Island papers for my mom's grandparents, but the Sullivan side of the family is shrouded in relative mystery.
Apparently I've got some German and Welsh lurking in me too, although I feel zero connection to the German. So I'm your basic European mutt, nothing exciting.
My nuclear family consists of 5 people. My mother, my father, myself, my brother of age 16, and my sister of age 10. My mom's side of the family comes the Midwest, and, on her side, I have descendants that sailed on the Mayflower. My mom is the second eldest of five in her family, and I am the oldest of my generation on both my mother's and father's side of the family tree. My papa is the eldest of three in his family, and is a first generation native of the United States. His parents are from Mexico, speak Spanish, and speak very little English. I, however, can't speak Spanish.
My immediate family consists of just my parents, me, and my little brother. I've never had any pets, well except a goldfish. All of my extended family live in China. I actually just visited China this last summer and got to see all my cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents, and some distant relatives I never knew I had. My heritage is Chinese, but it's really interesting to have grown up in America, because the American Chinese culture is definitely different from the culture in China, which I got to experience on my China trip. I can fluently speak Chinese, but reading and writing can be an issue :P.
My familial make-up has always brought rolling eyes and and jokes from anyone I have ever met. The make-up is me and my two brothers, one older and one younger. This means that I was smack in the middle. My older brother had alot of influence over me as a young lad, needless to say, I was in too many dangerous situation to count. My younger brother came around 8 years after my birth, leaving a larger gap in our ages. This factor especially allowed my younger brother a safer route to on as we were much too mature to force him to do the stunts we used to do.
My parents were both first generation immagrants who were born out of the country. My father, Turkish, met my Dominican mother at a restaurant one fateful night and the love started pouring. Needless to say, the love stopped pouring as my parents got a divorce after I was two.
My mother remarried four years later and we've been a great family ever since.
Family was the most important part of growing up for me. I am the youngest of three children, and am quite a deal younger than each of my siblings. I followed them everywhere when we were younger and idolized them. I have always been closer to my sister because I related so well to her, but also love my brother incredibly. I grew up in a Christian home, and my parents did a phenomenal job of raising us children.
My family is relatively small, I have only six first cousins and seven aunts and uncles.
My ancestors are primarily English and German, with a trace of Welsh blood. On my mother's side, I discovered a few years ago that I am directly related to John and Priscilla Alden, the famed couple in the poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish." I found that "relatively" interesting.
I would give my life for any member of my family. To say that they are that important to me would be an unbelievable understatement. They mean the world to me, and I love them more than life itself. God has blessed me greatly.
Hello!
I'm not much of a blogger either but this is a cool way to communicate with the class!
My immediate family consists of myself, my dad, my mom, and my older brother. My brother is 24 and is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. He is definitely the person I am closest to in my family. We are 5 and a half years apart but I admire and respect him so much. When he left for college I was 12 and was devestated when he left. :( Oh well, I survived. :P So even though we grew up together I feel like the last half of my life at home was spent as an only child. My extended family on both my mom and dad's side all live in Texas. I have a close cousin on my mom's side that I keep in touch with but the rest of my extended family I don't have much contact with. I can definitely relate to having friend's as family.
My mom is from Del Rio, Texas, a TINY border town where everyone knows everyone quite literally. My dad is from Abilene, Texas and they met each other during college in San Angelo, Texas. I have a loud crazy Hispanic family and a semi-loud crazy Scottish/English family. The two together make for interesting family time to say the least. :)
At the moment most of my family is two states away from me in good old California where I was born and raised. The most important members over there being my mom, dad, and little brother. Also, most of my mother's side of the family is over there. Other than that, basically my dad's entire side of the family is here in New Mexico. I grew up with just my brother, who is a little less than two years younger than I am. My dad has only a twin, so his family was small as well. However, I have always envied my mom because she is one of six siblings. It seems like it would be so much fun to have such a special bond to share with that many others. I suppose I just always made up for it by surrounding myself with numerous friends or various groups of them. The whole difference between the ethnicity and race thing has always confused me. Whenever people ask me "what I am", I respond that I am half Spanish and half Mexican. Then some people tell me that there is no difference because they are both of Spanish descent, while others tell me that there is definitely a difference. Hopefully I will get to the bottom of this mystery!
My immediate family consists of my dad and mom, my older sister and myself. I have always been very close to my family, especially to my mom and my sister who is 3 years older than me. I was homeschooled which bonded me even closer than most I think. My family is so important to me and has been the most influential part of my growing up. It is so incredible to have a family that would do anything for you and accept you for whoever you are and whatever you do. I am sooo blessed to have such a close family.
My dad's side of the family is from Indiana and I think there is some Irish blood in there. An interesting rumor that floats around is that Samual Clemens (Mark Twain) is an ancestor of our family. I don't know how true this is but I find it interesting. I am not very close to any of my Indiana family. And I'll have to say that when I have visited, it's not exactly the most friendly atmosphere. People from the mid-west seem to hold grudges for a long time and take sides and there's often fighting going on.
This is hugely contrasted by my mom's side of the family that lives here. My grandfather was from Mexico and my grandma was from Spain. My Hispanic family is huge and I love them! I have so many aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins and so many more that I don't even know. I love going to family gatherings. No matter who you are, there's always a big huge and kiss and lots and lots of food.
So that's a bit about my family. I love them all and I'm so blessed to have them!!
My family as it currently stands is rather small. I have a little brother who is 13 years old and my mom. We live in the East Mountains with three dogs, two cats, and two goats. My grandma lives in town so I am at her house a majority of the time. My uncle also lives there, but we don't get along very well. It's almost as if I live between two divorced parents because I have my stuff strung out between both my house and my grandma's house. In my life father figures have come and gone, and in the end it's my mom and my grandma who have supported me and who have my utmost respect.
My father originally came from Mexico, but I have only been there once and that was when I was two years old. My mom was adopted and she is quite the mix of heritages, although the dominant line is Anglo. I, therefore, take more after my mom.
Much of my family tree is mysterious and I feel unconnected from it, but I look forward to maybe discovering some interesting family stories or relatives on the way to discovering my roots.
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