Modern Day Family and the Traditional Family Unit

Modern day family is a very different thing these days. Most people do not live where they once did when they were growing up. Many families live in different cities then they once did. This separation of the family unit has done many things in our modern world. One of those things is create an extended family. Many however, create their own family in lieu of staying in touch with their real families. The reasons for this may vary as much as the choices in places to live; but one fact remains. It is a very viable and real option for modern day life. Here are some stories of people and their extended families. All of these stories are real people who shared their stories for the sake of knowledge regarding modern day family and the traditional family unit. Their names are changed to protect their privacy.

Reiana grew up in a small family in rural America. Her birthplace was in the Northern United States. She had a younger sister who always seemed to have trouble at school. Her mother always expected Reiana to defend her younger sister. Sometimes this meant fighting to protect her. It was never Reaina's goal to be a body guard for her younger sister. It was put on her like a 9-5 job. It grew tiresome to her after some time.

When she was in her late teens she left home. She went far away and began her new life. One which allowed her the freedom she had never had growing up in her family. She married but found that being a wife was much like being a child in her own family. It was a 9-5 job. Nothing seemed to be said in regard to thanks or gratefulness for her efforts in either one. Reiana knew instinctively that she had to create a family that actually loved one another. She wanted a family that was there for her as well.

She found that one day after a stint in Arizona. She discovered a group of people her age which, like herself; had little to no desire to communicate with their real family. They did however, seem to act as a family would. Reiana found great comfort in that. She had found her family.

Dean grew up the youngest in his family. He lived overseas for the first few formative years of his life. He was a writer by hobby as a child. As he grew this craft was tended to by his mother. She helped him to develop his craft. The only problem was that she was involved in his life too much for his well being. By the time Dean was 15 he knew that he had to cut the cord between his mother and himself. He decided to live with his father in California.

Dean attended college at one of the best schools in California for his craft as a writer. He graduated well and went on to create several politically successful publications. He had always had friends as his real family since college. These adopted families continued well into his thirties, where he still participates as a family member today. When he tries to visit his real family he said that he felt uncomfortable. Dean says that his adopted family is his real family because they accept his life and loves today.

Wayne was born to a large farmers family in the Northern United States. He also lived in a place where a musician and writer were not supposed to be men. Wayne was a man though, and a musician and writer. His teen years were more of a torture to him then a real life. He was a loving person though and kept most of this from his family. His mother in particular whom he loved a great deal. He wrote when he could and tolerated his father which always seemed to consider him a failure. Religion had a great deal to do with this fact. His father was very disapproving of his beliefs.

When Wayne went to college it was to study the Bible. Wayne went on to do just that. He also went on to write and in spite of his father's disapproval, was a huge success in his field. His family was a group of friends which he gathered along his life. He remained close to them throughout his adult life and well into his middle age. When he died, his friend spoke quietly of the real family verses the family that never really accepted him until he was dead.

What does all of this mean to modern day family and the traditional family unit? It means that many people find their family in other places. The modern day family has changed a great deal. Life choices and traditions are varied from what they once were and modern people create their family where they are. America is no longer a place where you have a 9-5 job and a devotion to an expected path. Instead, it has become an authentic life of who we really are. Modern day family and the traditional family unit are a more realistic representation of what Americans actually are.