11/12/19 N.L.S.

Family is Forever

[1] Most people value quality time with loved ones; for me, family movie nights saved my

life. Trivial family activities have a wide-reaching impact on family members. By nature,

humans are social creatures who need to interact with others. A person's family is traditionally

the first and most important social group ever developed. Families create long term

psychological effects that set social standards for life. From nature walks to movies, little efforts

create a working, breathing human. For example, let us take my experience when I was younger.

[2] Back when I was a child, my family would watch a movie together every Friday night.

No matter what happened the previous week, we would always curl up and watch a show

together. My parents had far more pressing matters at hand, but always made time to sit down for

an hour and make sure I was doing alright. They showed love in a consistent way that did not

affect me at the time. However, much later in life I still hold those memories close to my heart.

Currently, I show affection to my friends by carrying on the tradition of Friday movie nights.

[3] While I was in junior high, I ran into trouble with depression and mental health. Many

people in the same situation usually suffer far worse than I did because of the resources I had at

hand. The foundations my family had built when I was considerably younger proved to be

critical. I knew I wasn't alone and could reach out to my family if I needed them. During the

week I spent recovering from a difficult time, I kept thinking about how contrary to what I was

feeling, I was loved. The lessons I had learned as a child would continue to serve me well.

[4] Using what I learned during those family activities, I built strong bonds with my friends.

Moving forward, I'm confident in my ability to build relationships. I don't associate building
relationships with extremes. Time spent with each other, laughing and talking, strengthens

bonds.

[5] Consistent effort by my parents led me to feel connected with my family and peers. If

parents spent more time with their children, building shared experiences, perhaps my generation

would feel less alone and abandoned. People my age often feel disconnected from both their

families and friends. Since they spent more time with their Xbox than they did with people, my

generation never learned healthy ways to bond. Now our primary goal must be to ensure we don't

hand our anxiety on to our children.