Importance of Family

     In my opinion there is no perfect family. Every family is different but can still find its own perfection. "Any family is a big empty pot , save for what gets thrown in" (Kingsolver 31). This quote shows how a family can be what you make of it. If you embrace everyone in your family it will be a good soup but if you don't it will just be stone soup. 

     Families don't even have to be blood related. People could be married into a family of adopted in and they should be as much a part of the family as the people that are blood related. Families are a group of people that are happy together and are somehow bonded to each other.

     To me my family is everything. We share our good and bad days. We push through hard days and try to make good ones last longer. Laughter or tears we are still there for each other. I learn things from my family and my family learns from me. We share qualities and have our own. "Saturday! The last Saturday in their old home" (Smith 482). The quote shows how Francie and her family pushed through their rough days together and have made it to more cheerful ones. Katie is getting married and they are moving into a nicer home. They made it through their hard times because, they stuck together as a family.

     My family is the most important part of my life. We are all very close and spend lots of time together. I would consider my family my mom, dad, sister, nana, grampy, my aunts and uncles, cousins and their spouses, and even my dog. All these people and pets have qualities we all share. A family should share similar qualities and interests. We also have some qualities that are very different. One example is my cousin can sing very well but he's the only person in our entire family, other than his wife, that can sing. Evidence that we all share some qualities is that we are all extremely goofy. We like to joke around, laugh together, and smile so much it hurts. We like to make each other happy which, is what makes us a family. "I'm there too, witnessing a family fortune" (Kingsolver 1). The author tells a story of a boy who had a large cheering section. The section was so large because he had his step parent and step siblings at the game too. This family is very close even though the original marriages didn't work out. They are definitely making the boy happy as a family should do.

     One of the most important parts of being a family is being there for each other through tough times. If someone in your family is having trouble you should be right by there side. "Francie felt important being in sole charge" (Smith 333). When Katie is pregnant she needs someone to depend on. Francie is there for whatever she needs. Francie is a great family member for being there when Katie needs her most. When you have a family you should never feel as if you are facing your problems alone. Your family should get you through your problems and into better days. A true family member will be there to pick you up when you start to fall.

Sacredness of the Ordinary

Most people have items that they think are sacred. Others will see them as worthless items when it really is something priceless. Not everyone can notice something so little but if you pay close attention you may be able to see someone’s sacred item. My sacred item is my ring I always wear on my finger. Others think it's just something little but to me it is much more.

I first met my ring about 3 years ago. It was a present and my sister's idea. I was dreading the day about half a year away when I had to part from my sister Michaela. We had always been close and she was going off to college. We barely ever spent any time apart from each other. She had come up with the idea of matching rings. My mom went online and got the rings for us soon after. I thought it was just an ordinary ring when I saw the engraving on the inside that read "Sisters Forever". From then on I vowed I’d only take the ring off when I had to.

My ring represents my whole family as well. When I look at it I think of my sister, my mom, and even my dad. It reminds me of Michaela because I know she’s wearing the same thing no matter where she is. I see my mom because, she used to love putting bows in my hair. She would want to braid it and decorate it with bows but I was not a fan. Lastly, I think of my dad tying my shoelaces into a perfect bow. He would get the honor of tying my shoelaces when I was little because, he would do the best job. My ring means family not just a piece of jewelry.

In an odd way my ring even gets me through tough times. My ring can help me to stay calm when I may really be panicking. Whenever I’m nervous I twirl the ring around my finger. My attention is turned from my nerves to my ring. I think about my family and instantly feel happy. My nerves then go away and I’m able to do what I was nervous about.

Even though I vowed to never take my ring off I sometimes have to. During gymnastics I am not aloud to keep my ring on. I have to put it in a bag and wait for gymnastics to end. My sister has a different problem than me with taking her ring off. Michaela’s ring is stuck on her finger and she can’t get it off. She has tried multiple strategies but it won’t even budge. Her ring represents our bond because it's stuck forever.

Having something sacred to you is very important. It is even better when it is something so ordinary. My ring appears so ordinary when it means more to me than any other item. The ring represents me better than anything else I own which is why it is so important. Everyone deserves to have an item that is both sacred and ordinary.

A picture of my ring in Massachusetts.

                      A picture of my sister's ring in London, England.