Many things change in life, including friends, style, morals, jobs… With everything constantly changing around us, there is one thing that will always stay the same: family. Family always comes first. Family will always stand by its members’ side no matter what the circumstances are, ups and downs. When we have family, we have those who care for us, we won’t really need anything else. And when we are surrounded by family, we realize that nothing in the world can ever replace them. Family is the support system everyone needs to grow, inquire, learn, and reflect in an unconditional loving atmosphere. This is why I believe in family.
Family is the single most important influence in a child’s life. From their first moments in life, children depend on their parents and their family to protect them and provide for their needs. Family will always stand by our sides through ups and downs. I remember my father leaving home, saying that he loves us, and we will reunite together, as a family very soon. I was a kid when he left, so I didn’t understand the sacrifice he was making, just for us, to have a better future. He used to visit us once or twice per year, and we used to spend every vacation and the whole summer in Dubai, where he used to work. We recently moved back together as family, and the distance between us for those many years has made us the strong family we are today, and now we overcome obstacles together because that’s what family does. I believe in family because even if we, as children, do not understand its meaning, we give new experiences and feelings to our parents which are metamorphosed into love; we get lots of love and affection needed for emotional growth and future success, without giving anything meaningful in return. Family is the support, whether emotionally or financially. They listen and discuss things when needed and demonstrate the fact that they care. In healthy families, people actively and conscientiously learn and practice emotional regulation. None of us “have it together” at all times, but even when we “lose it” healthy families do not resort to remarks laced with contempt, verbal, emotional, relational, or physical abuse when expressing their emotions. Parents teach their children important financial lessons depending on their age, from you may have to wait to buy something you want, to you need to make your own choices about how to spend money. But the most important lesson parents should teach their children is that money isn’t free. We must work hard to earn it. So, it’s up to parents to teach their kids smart financial habits from a young age. This brings us to our next point which is family is the first community to interact with.
Family will always try to prevent their children from facing bad and dangerous things in life, which may hurt them physically or emotionally. But when children do something wrong, they must be grounded or at least assume consequences. Children might think that punishing them is unfair, but when the think of what they did, they will understand their mistake, and make sure to never repeat it because the consequences will be harsher than the first time. Afterall, parents don’t like to ground their children, but they know that by doing so, they are training them to assume their responsibilities towards their actions. For example, when I used to invite my friends over, we would mess up the entire room, mixing all the puzzles and all the games together. In the afternoon, after they leave, it was my mother who would rearrange the entire room, a task that would last two hours. This happened once, twice, three times, with warnings of confiscating all my toys. But when it happened again after that, as warned, all my games were locked in the closet except for one. I had to earn back one game per week. This is how I learned to assume the consequences and responsibilities of my actions. Parents and family form a child’s first relationships. They are a child’s first teacher and they act as role models in how to react and how to experience the world around them. By nurturing and teaching children during their early years, families play an important role in making sure children are ready to learn efficiently when they enter school, real life at a later stage. Our families are where we experience our biggest triumphs and our deepest vulnerabilities, and they are also where we have the greatest potential to do well.
We believe the family is divine in nature and that God designates it as the fundamental building block of society. As such, it becomes the foundation for civilization and a sanctuary for the individual. In all the monotheist religions holy books, it is mentioned that, when God created Adam, he said that a man should not be alone, and that he will make him someone to meet. And after God created Eve, Adam said, that a man must leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. God sanctioned and encouraged families, commanding Adam and Eve to be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth. Family is where we learn to love ourselves and each other, to bare one another’s burdens, to find meaning in our life, and to give purpose to other’s lives, while we understand the value of being part of something greater than ourselves.
Our relationship with our parents and siblings is something that we must learn to treasure more and more every day. There are many important things in life, but the most important thing to me is family. I am lucky and blessed to have such a loving, caring, providing, and compassionate family and it is the reason of the person I am today.
