Student Opinion: The Rewards of a Big Family
Launch the media gallery 1 playerA basic Google search will tell you that the average-sized American family is 3. If this were my family, that would mean I would be an only child. Coming from the big family that I do, this is something I truly cannot even fathom. I look at my life with my very large family, I feel so blessed to have been able to grow up with the family I have.
Growing up with three brothers can be a handful, especially being the only girl. But, being the only girl does come with benefits. On the plus side, I’ve never had to share a bed with any of my siblings on vacation, and most of the time I get what I want, even if I have to pay for it. I never have hand-me-downs from my older siblings, and I never have to sit in the back of the pick-up on long car rides in between my brothers. And the best part is I’ve never had to share a room with any of my siblings.
On the other hand, there are some downsides. I had nobody to talk to, and I never had anybody to play with growing up, and now I am always forced to help cook dinner or bake cookies or brownies. Another disadvantage is that in the future, when I get married, I will be the only one in my immediate family with a different last name, but I wouldn’t trade any of my brothers for anything different…I think.
My dad came from a family of 11. He grew up with seven brothers and a sister. Eventually, all of his siblings got married and had kids and if every family has three to four kids, the number can add up fast. I have a total of 22 cousins, just on my dad’s side. Family events can get excessively crowded in a short period of time. If you take all 44 family members and put them in one room, there isn’t much moving space, but it only makes it more exciting. Young and old, there is always something happening. Whether the boys are putting holes in walls, or girls playing a prank on the younger cousins, everyone has something to do.
My mom came from a slightly smaller family of 8. She grew up with four brothers and a sister. I have 12 cousins, but 3 of them are married and 2 of them have kids, which makes a total of 19. The house isn’t as full as my dad’s side of the family, but 32 family members is a lot. Maybe even more than some other people’s full families. Even though most of my cousins are much older, or much younger, I wouldn’t want anything different because they have all molded me into the person I am today.
Family gatherings are one of my favorite parts of having a big family. Every summer my family goes on one big camping trip. We all take our campers to Yankton, South Dakota, and go boating and fishing. My favorite part is biking or squeezing into one vehicle and going to the Dairy Dock. My favorite is a large vanilla cone dipped in a blue raspberry cone dip.
This past summer, my uncle Josh invited us to a cabin in South Dakota where we went ATV riding through the hills, tubing on the river, and lounging on the beach. With all of my cousins, we know how to have a great time. The adults and younger kids stay in the main cabin, while the older cousins stay in the bunkhouse. A break from the adults is always a nice touch. Whatever you could be doing, you always have somebody to do it with, even if you don’t want them tagging along.
Christmas is my favorite holiday with my family. My grandma gives us each 100 dollars to spend on a Christmas present each year, and it is fun to see what everybody gets themselves. Another tradition in my family is a gift exchange. We each pick a cousin at random and buy them a gift based on what we think they would like. I’m not going to lie, it is hard to find a gift for a cousin that is not my age that I don’t hang out with often, so if one of my brothers gets somebody that I would rather get a present for, I switch names with them. In addition to presents, you always have to be mindful of when the candy board is laid out, because if you aren’t fast enough, you may not get your favorite Christmas treat off of grandma’s candy board.
There are so many amazing people that I get to call my family, and I don’t know what I would do without them. They have shaped me into the person I am today, and they make me an overall better person just from being around them. Even though I don’t get to see my cousins every day, I still have an amazing bond with all the people in my family. I mean, who doesn’t want a family bigger than the total kids in their high school?