Family and Social Environment, Essay Example

I grew up in a traditional Jamaican family where my father was the head of the family and the sole authority in home affairs. He would often be away from home, travelling back and forth between the U.S. and Jamaica for work. My mom was both a housewife and an income-earner at the same time. Not only did she do two jobs but also took care of me and my elder sister as well as her own six siblings. I come from Christian Baptist background and religion was an important part of our daily lives. We regularly went to Church and every member of the family was expected to attend to religious responsibilities without any exception. My parents would not abstain from physically spanking their children to assert their authority but my sister enjoyed more favorable treatment by our parents than me. I was a bit of a tomboy growing up but also more mature and responsible than my sister. Even though my sister is five years older than me, I now economically support both my sister and her daughter.

In Jamaican culture, men almost rule with dictatorial power and women are not supposed to question them. Men lay out the socializing rules for women and casually use abusive language. I also observed that women often don’t get the credit for the hard work they do and even though my mother worked harder than my dad, my dad managed family affairs with absolute authority. Thus, I became mature before age as well as extremely sensitive to human feelings. I was conscious of the dominance men enjoyed and this may be why I was a bit of a tomboy because I wanted to feel in control of my life and not be judged on my gender. Another reason why I was emotionally sensitive may be the preferred treatment enjoyed by my sister even though I worked harder at household affairs. In Jamaican culture, the interests of the group often come before the interests of the individuals which may be why few working hands often support the whole family. I had conflicted opinions on the system because on one hand, I admired the selfless attitude towards others but on the other hand I detested the idea that hard work becomes a liability instead of being rewarded. Those who work hard have to share their rewards with everyone because equality is promoted in Jamaican culture. Religion was an important part of my family, thus, it did shape my social and cultural upbringing. I often took refuge in religion against the perceived discrimination I faced as both a female and less-favored child of my parents. Thus, religion did motivate me to bear with the unfair nature of life.

I do believe women are equally capable if not more than men but my upbringing makes it difficult for me to not see women as housewives, even if they have a career. As much as I want to see a system when both men and women share family responsibilities, I always convince myself that men will always be lousy at household affairs. I am also good at putting myself in others’ shoes and my friends often praise my ability to understand others. I believe I am able to sympathize with others because I myself have been through a difficult upbringing and understand the struggles of life.

I am also patient and do not lose my temper easily because I am always reminding myself how much better my present is as compared to the past. I have high career aspirations because I didn’t get much appreciation as a child and, thus, I have a deep desire somewhere in my heart to be genuinely appreciated for my abilities and achievements.