The Normality of my Family Essay -- Essays Papers

The Normality of my Family According to The American Heritage Dictionary the word normal means â€Å"conforming with, adhering to, or constituting a norm, standard, pattern, level or type; typical.†However, in the culture we live in, these standards, patterns, levels, and types vary drastically. What is considered normal in one region, state, city, neighborhood, or even household maybe completely different in another. As Americans we share many traditions, customs, values and views, and at the same time, we all live very differently; that is what makes this nation so great. Most people seem to consider their own lifestyle, to be perfectly normal, even if it is nothing like that of someone else. So if we all live so differently, what is normal and who defines it? I was brought up in the town of Smallville, USA. Smallville is the kind of place were almost everyone knows each other, and familiar faces are always everywhere. Friday night football games are about the most exciting thing to happen all week. There is only one grocery store, a few stop lights, and all two lane roads, many of which are dirt.To me, this is completely normal, but that is because it is what I am used to. Until now, it was all I had ever known. I had lived in Ortonville all my life. A few days ago my ‘city slicker’ room mate and I were out running around.We were not far from my hometown so we decided to make a slight detour so she could see where I was from. We drove through the tiny downtown of Ortonville, past my High School, and by my house. She was amazed. To her, it was like being up north!She even compared it to being like â€Å"her Grandparents cottage in the upper peninsula.†She kept cracking jokes about cows out numbering people and such.We b oth got a... ...ir relationship as normal. In way they kind of reminds me of Tammy, from People Like Us. Tammy put her families relationship on the line at times so that she could provide for them. Sometimes I feel that way about my parents. I get the feeling that they think that providing us with a nice house, new cars, and fancy furniture is more important than their happiness. I would love to see my parents do things like go on dates, cuddle, and even just talk about things other than business. To answer my own question, what is normal and who defines it, I would just like to say that normality is something that everyone defines for themselves. We all have different views on what is normal. Normality is just what you know, what you were brought up with, what you are used to. It is everything and anything you want it to be, and that is why it is such a wonderful thing.