I realized that I forgot to make a post last week, but don't worry I've got two for you! I've been considering a lot lately why we study the family? The truth is that the family unit influences almost every aspect of life. The family you grow up in has a major part in influencing who you become and how you live your life. Our family of origin (or the family we are born into) will even influence our family of creation (or the family we go on to create with a future -or current - spouse). In the text book we use in my Family Relations class is says, "One of the ways we get a better sense of who we are is to know more about the kind of family of which we are a part." (Marriage and Family: The Quest for Intimacy eighth addition, Robert H. Lauer and Jeanette C. Lauer pg.3) Personally studying the family has two purposes for me. One is that it helps me to learn and better understand who I am and why I do the things I do. I believe it also helps me to prepare to have a family of my own some day.
There are so many different ways to study the family, and specifically your family. A genogram is a graphic display of a family tree that displays detailed data on relationships among individuals. When we use a genogram to study a family it helps us to see behavioral patterns and influences we may not otherwise have noticed. It can also help us to make changes in our behaviors and life-styles so as to prevent passing on undesirable traits to future generations, and maybe simply being able to better understand where certain habits came from. In the coming weeks I will be making a genogram of my family so we'll see what I learn not only about my family, but also about myself. So here's to my "some day" family. Hopefully what I learn now will help some day to make more sense. And I hope we're better for it.
Hey its your TA again:) Why do you believe our family of creation is influenced by our family of origin? What are some of the traditions or behaviors that you want to use from your family of origin and bring to your family of creation? The quote you mentioned reminded me of a saying Brother Williams often quotes, "the best indicator of future behavior is current or past behavior." This quote describes the importance of changing or modifying negative behavior in order to more fully have faith in the future.
ReplyDeleteI guess I feel like your family of origin really helps to create the person you become. It shapes your perceptions of the world and teaches you about relationships. It really is your foundation. But fortunately as you begin your own family of creation you have the opportunity to strengthen that foundation before you build on it. I love that quote from Brother Williams because it is so true! Our behavior really does determine the future. It has been such a blessing to me to be able to make some changes in myself to avert some of the struggles I bring from my family of origin and try to help strengthen my future family of creation. I guess the biggest thing I want to use from my family of creation is making sure to communicate love. There were, and still are, a lot of challenges in my family of origin but we always knew our parents loved us. That is so important to me, and I hope that I will be able to convey that to my children as well.
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