I live in a small town in India where my family has been residing for over two decades. My family consists of my parents, my brother and myself. We also have a pet cat that we adopted two years ago from an animal rescue shelter. My father works as an accountant and my mother is an elementary school teacher where my brother and I studied for a few years in our childhood. My brother is two years older than me and he works in construction.
We are a close-knit family and share our thoughts and troubles with each other. My mother is a strong lady who works hard along with my father during thick and thin. She always has a positive vibe and supports me in every step of my life. My father, on the other hand, although does not express his emotions much, makes sure we are safe and sound by providing all that we ask for. My brother is my best friend and my worst enemy at the same time as he complains constantly about me but also supports me when someone crosses me.
My family is my power that keeps pushing me to achieve the impossible too. They have made me who I am today and I cannot ask for anything else. I will forever be indebted to them for everything they have done for me. My family has always been a pillar of support for me in my ups and downs. They have taught me how to be a compassionate and brave person. I cannot imagine a day without them.
Vocabulary:
- Close-knit group- a group in which people are close and look out for each other
- Indebted- owing gratitude for a service or favour.
- Compassionate - sympathetic
Part 3 Follow Up - Questions & Answers
1. In what ways have families in your country changed in recent years?
Families in my country have changed in many ways over the last years. Women used to stay at homes taking care of children and doing household chores while men used to work outside to feed the family and take care of it. Now a lot of women choose to work outside the house and follow their own career path.
2. Should husbands and wives have different roles within the family? Why/ why not?
Traditionally, they have had quite different roles, but that is, of course, changing in recent decades and centuries, as the role of women has advanced to be almost equal to that of men - in the workplace, at least. Women have clearly proven themselves equal to almost any task that was formerly male territory alone. How you set up your family should reflect the roles you and your spouse prefer, and that should definitely be a matter of discussion before you marry.
3. Who are more important to you, your family or your friends?
It ultimately depends on the nature of the relationship you have with your family and your friends. I am raised in a loving family that looked after me and accepted me, there is nothing greater to me or nothing more important than my family. However, I feel truly loving and caring friends can be more important if your family was cold and abusive.
4. What conflicts can arise between a person’s family and a person’s friend?
There are some situations that when a man has to experience a conflict between family and friends. I think the most prominent conflict might be the issue of being with family or friends. Such conflicts might arise when a person spends more time with either of the two. If your friends expect you and you are tied down by some family commitment there is a likelihood of being misunderstood by your friends.. These are the potential and usual conflicts that may arise between friends and family.
5. What responsibilities do parents have towards their children?
The first thing a parent should be responsible for is feeding, clothing and loving you enough to keep a roof over your head. Then there come the toys and other things that kids have to have to develop into school age children. Then there is always homework. Kids will need help with homework. Parents need to keep in close contact with what is going on at school and know if the child has a problem that needs attention. This requires parents to give up a lot of their free time and for Dads this means maybe giving up watching football on Sunday or Monday nights because the child needs help with something. Kids take a lot of time and patience and then if there is more than one, it sometimes takes both parents to keep up. Kids have interests too and a lot of times it isn’t something the parents are interested in, but parents can learn a thing or two along the way too, so it is not wasted time to try to get interested in what they are trying to learn how to do.
