Liberty University: The Cultural Characteristics Of My Family

FAMILY GENOGRAM
Liberty University:

Introduction After full length research and discussions with my relatives, I found out that we all shared certain similar characteristics. Musical talents and sports talents were are as a result of family culture as I will explain later on. One thing that was constant is the love that everyone had for each other. Even after separations and arguments, everyone still had something nice to say about each other. The characteristic patterns were very interesting and were manifested in a certain manner that was familiar with certain sides of the family. There are characteristics that are brought about by nature and those that are nurtured into our lives. When the families grow bigger, these characteristics become more and harder
to predict. This is therefore my family’s genogram and history for three generations. There are various medical characteristics in my family. Most of these characteristics are genetically related therefore they can be predicted. Bi-polar diseases, heart disease, diabetes, height and gallbladder issues are some of the medical conditions affecting my family. Diabetes is common on one side of my family. My grandparents both had diabetes. Since this type of diabetes is hereditary, it was passed on to some members of our family. There have been a few cases of heart disease in my extended family. My grandfather once had a stroke while he was about 50 years old. He later had a heart attack which almost killed him. He later on passed away of cancer which was most likely caused by his lifestyle rather than hereditary issues or characteristics. He is the only one in the whole extended family of three generations to suffer from cancer. That is why I don’t think it is in the genes or hereditary. His brother and sister, that is, also suffer from diabetes but are still alive and kicking. My uncle too followed suit and had a mild stroke. Even though it was mild He was very young and the family did not expect that to happen soon. Just like my grandfather, he too died later but the cause of death was a heart attack. She had even had surgery and gotten a heart transplant but still didn’t make it alive.
Me and my family live in a small town in the outskirts. My step father, my birth mother and four of my siblings live there. I have two sisters and one brother. I am the first born child in our family followed by my brother and two sisters. After the birth of our youngest sister, my other sister who followed her became jealous of her. She felt as if she was being replaced and did not like that. Since she was treated very special, she felt like the limelight wouldn’t shine on her again. This made her become selfish and wanted to hang out with my parents all the time. These characteristics made her grow up resenting our youngest sister and become jealous of her. Many of my family members have been diagnosed with gallbladder issues. These issues are mainly from my father 's side. Unlike heart disease and diabetes, gallbladder issues are far less complicated. Their removal isn 't as cumbersome as heart transplant operations. My father had his gallbladder removed then his brother too had the same procedure. From my mother’s side, there are fewer conditions. There is a blood disorder known as the Five factor. It is a blood disorder that does not allow our blood to thin out natural as it should. Since this is not a common disorder, my family came to know about it later on. We discovered this years ago when one of my other uncles almost died from a huge blood clot in her arm. The doctors then told us that this is usually a hereditary disorder and most of my family members began getting tested. It was then discovered that my mother, my sister, my brother and I have the disorder as well. Most of my family members are tall and have an athletic body. My uncle was an athlete in his youth days and even represented the country at one of the national events. My father was also a hockey player and he also played professionally for about one year. My younger brother seems to have similar characteristics and is very good at soccer. Most of our relatives are comparatively tall as well. Another trait that I find interesting is eye color. Everyone in my family, especially the immediate families have a dominant eye color. We all have blue eyes in our family. Most of my uncles, grandparents and aunts also have blue eyes. It is therefore a pre dominant characteristic in the extended family. Another trait which I found out while researching my families genogram is that there are very many females in our family. I found that the number of females compared to the males was relatively larger. I found this observation rather peculiar but it has something to do with genealogy. The sex of a baby is most definitely unpredictable but once it is known can most definitely prove to be the result of a pattern. In our family, the female sex genes seem to be the winning genes more often. My father has four sisters, that is my aunts and my mother has three sisters. All of my mother sisters have daughters. This shows that the female gene is stronger in our family. As our extended family grows bigger and bigger through marriage and production of offspring, the less predictable certain characteristics are because of the presence of another genetic set of characteristics coming from another family. This mixture of families and new offspring brings in new genes and family characteristics.
Most of my great grandparents on my father 's side were born and raised in Alabama. There were staunch Christians and they instilled their beliefs and religions to my grandparents. My grandparents then moved to Georgia where they raised my parents there. My mother and father separated when I was about 18 years. This was really hard on my younger siblings who at the moment did not quite understand what was going on. My parents were arguing very much and that really affected all of us. This affected my brother the most because he really looked up to my parents. My father started physically abusing my mother and they did not get along. This made us resent our father and up to date we do not get along. Most of the time they used to argue about my stepfather. My younger sister resented my father most and she started hating all men. She started having only female friends and did not get along with her male classmates. This abuse really affected my father and caused her to get high blood pressure and depression.
My father and mother later on separated and finalized that with a divorce. My mother later on found love and her wounds began healing. Even though she was getting better socially and emotionally, she still lived in constant fear and depression. She also had shame due to the incident. My mother very strong and is the pillar of our family. We always look up to her for very many things which make her the strongest person in our family. My brother took up the role and became the man of the house. He is always trying to fill our father’s shoes by doing all the chores that look manly enough. He also studies very hard in school so as not to disappoint my mother the way my father disappointed her. It puts a lot of pressure on him but in a good way since he turns negative feelings to positive work. Our youngest sister is the most affected one since she is slow with her school work and chores at home. She always expects someone, especially my mother to take care of her. Since my mother got a new job as an accountant, she hasn’t had time for her and it has been really hard on
her. Conclusion
This genogram project has made me aware of my family ties and relations. This project has made me see the medical, social and interpersonal characteristics of my family’s history for three generations. It has also led me to realize how the general environment has influenced my family as a whole unit.

References
McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petri, S. (2008). Genograms: Assessment and Intervention (3rdrd ed.). New York: Norton Professional Books.