Kinship

What are the different kinship roles - such as nephew, aunt or uncle, in-law, grandson or
granddaughter - that you play as a result of being a member of your extended family? What
rights and obligations does each of these roles entail in your family? Do you have any fictive
kin? How did they become "like family"?

In my life I have never thought about what a family is or what defines a family until I got
older when the definition of family started to be questioned more and more. My family keeps
getting bigger the more I open myself up to so many people. By definition of our textbook I have
a consanguineous family. Consanguineous relationships are created through biological (blood)
ties That is through birth (Strong & Cohen, 2014, p. 18). My mom and dad have been married
for twenty one years. Both of them came from families where there parents too were married for
a lifetime. On both sides of my family my parents are the oldest which makes me the oldest
grandchild and the oldest child. For the first twenty years of my life I was a cousin,
granddaughter and daughter only. When I got married in 2016 I became an aunt to three boys on
my husbands side. This kind of relationship is a conjugal relationship, The word conjugal is
derived from the Latin conjugate, meaning to join together (Strong & Cohen, 2104, p. 17).
In my role being the oldest child, grandchild and now being an aunt I an example. I feel a
responsibility to be a good person and act the way I would want my cousins and nephews to be. I
want to be figure they can not only look up to, like a parental figure, but also be someone they
can come to with secrets someone they trust. I want them to have memories of me like the ones I
have of the relationship with my aunts. In a way I feel like I have a right to being the favorite
which I know may sound funny but I really get to be the best of both worlds. I can be their friend
in all things but I know they will also look up to me and ask me for guidance throughout their
lives. The family relationships I have are a huge blessing to me. Every time I have a new cousin
born I think there is no way I will love them like I love whomever but with every person I add to
my family my love for them and bond with them gets stronger.
There is one person in my life that I would consider to be family though we have no tie
by law or blood. He is my husband's best friend and through the years that I have known him
hes become a best friend of mine and I would consider him family. I wouldnt be able to out a
specific relation to him but I know I love him and he loves me and that we would protect each
other. Sometimes I even think my bond to him is stronger than the one I have to my own
siblings. Family means so much to us both. My husband, his friend and I make up our own kind
of family I wish I had the words to fully describe it but all I know is it is different than family but
just as strong.
 Reference Page

Strong, Bryan, and Theodore F. Cohen. The Marriage and Family Experience Boston, MA:
Cengage Learning, 2014. Print