My topic is an odd one. I am writing about the generalizations that people make, about their families. This is a little bit situational based on your own family, but I am hoping to hit the most common and incorrect, or misconceived stereotypes. Everyone knows that they exist, and unless you have one of the good ones, it would be nice to establish the inaccuracy that they contain. A good example of what I am thinking is the term "soccer mom." Since when did it become derogatory to haul your kids to their team practices. Another I love is the "older sibling syndrome." Some of these I choose to personally tag as what I believe them to be. The "older sibling syndrome" is the constantly competitive, obnoxiously authoritative, and belittling attitude of an elder sibling. To me the options are infinite; someone always feels ostracized by their family for some reason.
To research for this I plan to use other experiences that people have had in their own lives along with my own to compare and verify the data. The material I am writing on is based a lot on psychological effects that actions by family members inevitably have on their recipients. To determine the actual scientifically verified consequences, I will look into psychology books, and will hopefully find some case studies that are relevant. Psychology is one of the topics that I either find extremely interesting, or extremely superfluous. I have studied psychology at the introductory levels and have a few textbooks that I can go back to and dig up the information I studied about familial relationships. It's amazing to know the impact you have on someones life. A few simple word could mean the absolute most to them. What I would like to learn about is how to maximize relationships. I know that ignorantly I say things to people and unintentionally cause some rifts. For this I would like to research and develop an idea of how people determine the role of another person in their lives. Family relationships automatically hold more weight with most people. That is why I am focusing here. The stories I hear about fathers who have trouble conveying emotion and therefore negatively effect future relationships their children have, interest me to no end. Why does it matter so much what your father thinks? Why can't a child develop separate ways of functioning in relationships?
Not only are parental impacts important. There are the interactions between brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and step siblings or half siblings. All in all my options are endless. There are no definitive boundaries set on this topic. I am completely enthralled in the possibilities so the writing hopefully will convey that.
Music
About Me
- Kat
- I'm 19 and deciding what I want to do with my life. I'm open to suggestions.
Intriguing post Kat. It seems that you've given a lot of thought to your topic, and it's one that you are passionate about. I've thought a lot about the way you should treat your family, and how the familial interactions ultimately affect your personality, and many times your future choices. A question that I'd like to have you research (if it interests you; time permitting) is why people feel indebted to their family. Why do some people feel that they need to prove something to their parents or siblings? Why should we care more about our respective families than the people of this world? Is it because we only have so much that we can handle as people? Can we not see that we're all from the same mold, and we should be taking care of the world and treating them the same way we would want to treat close family members? I often think of historical figures like Ghandi, Christ, Mother Theresa, and how they could look past the proximal relationships of their family, and care a stranger just as easily. It's moving, and powerful.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you might want to consider picking up a sociology book. I'm sure you'd find a lot out about familial structure/relationships.
p.s. Good choice in music (Pumpkins, Radiohead).
Kathleen,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post and what caught my eye the most was that you brougt up a point about father/child relationships.That is something I have been thinking about myself, espicaly since my blog is about Japan. It seems to me that in some Asian cultures fathers are not as expressive with their feelings for their children as an American father would be. I give my father hugs and my Japanese friends look at me like I am crazy. When I go to their homes their fathers are very nice but there is no physical contact with eachother and there is no I love You's(this can even be said for a husband/wife relationship). For me I find this wierd but at the same time interesting. My friends love their fathers and I know their fathers love them but it is deffinently interesting how they choose to express this. Also, you wondered how this lack of child/father realtionship effected kids. I too wonder, and I guess it depends on where you live because when I look at my friend's families their is no problems. None of the kids suffer any emotional distress from having a simple relationship with their father. Maybe that is something you and I both should look at.
Thanks. You guys have really sparked my interest. I am definitely going to research and write one of my posts on this. I would love to include a different cultures aspect on it too. Expect a blog soon from me on it. I want to make sure I get some good information on it, but I'm really interested to see what I will find.
ReplyDeleteWow. What an interesting post! I can tell you, that from experience, I do think it matters what a parent thinks regardles of whether it's the mother or father, especially for kids from domestic violence--affected families. I agree with you: there are so many people in our family with assigned roles, it can get dizzying. But then we can also look to those we choose to have in our lives (like partners, husbands and wives, friends), who fill in the role of particular family members on occasion.
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