A Normal Way of Life

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A Normal Way of Life

What is "normal" in American culture? I believe my family is "normal" and my friends believe that of their families, too. Yet, our families are so different. How can that be? Everyone has an ideal image of a "normal" family according to the way they live. I believe "normal" to be a mother, a father, and kids living in the same house with three cars and a pool to be normal. My family has a strong set of beliefs, traditions, and artifacts that compile into my ideal image of "normal".

I am of French, German, and Polish decent. My parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents lived in Michigan their entire lives. My mother's side was from Warren and my father's from Pontiac. Growing up my parents went to a Catholic school and became high school sweethearts. My mother and father were not very well off growing up and it seemed to stay that way early into their marriage. My father became a builder at the young age of twenty-three. My mother once told me that after they moved into their first home, they couldn't even afford a dishwasher. My mother was a medical assistant up until I was three and she hasn't worked since. I was fortunate enough to have my mother home with me when I was younger. A lot of children I went to elementary school with weren't as lucky. Growing up my brother, parents, and I all lived in a small, ranch-style home in Sterling Heights. We had a nice yard, two cars, and a basketball hoop. This was typical if you looked down our street. Once I hit fifth grade our house went up for sale and we moved to Washington Township. Our home was bigger now and the people in the neighborhood were fairly different also. They thought that we lived on Rodeo Drive. We moved again when I was in ninth grade...

... middle of paper ...

...her siblings, and my grandparents grew up living in. I love that house. It reminds me of my grandma. After she died my grandfather moved out, but my uncle moved in. He and his family now live in it, so it is still part of our family.

My "normal" has been declared as a loving mother and father with kids and a nice home in American culture. Still there are many extremes in American families today which others believe to be "normal". One-day kids will believe having parents of the same sex is "normal". Our America is ever changing as is our ideas of American normalcy. So, compared to children who don't have two parents and a car to drive or food in their cupboards my family is "normal".

Works Cited

Alvarez, Louis and Andrew Kolker, directors. People Like Us: Social Class in America. PBS.WDET, Detroit. 23 September 2001. 26 October 2001. Online Transcript.

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