Family Oral Paper

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Family Oral Paper

Introduction

Family is one of the most significant human social organizations, if not the most one. Human beings all come from a family. By looking closely along the family tree, a person can trace their roots. This paper discusses some of the most dominant themes that are important in describing people, particularly the aged people, to the core. This text delves into various themes surrounding the family members, person’s life, family, big moments, small moments, achievements, disappointments, joy, and pain of a 72-year-old family member that I interviewed to complete this assignment.

Biographical Sketch

To complete this assignment, I interviewed my 72-year old grandfather. He is my father’s mother. My grandfather’s name is Samuel. He was born on 27th October 1951. He has lived in many states in the United States as well as in cities abroad in Europe and Asia. Currently, he lives in Ohio with my grandmother and my aunt, who helps to take care of them both. My grandfather has lived in Berlin, Bangkok (Thailand), Cambodia, and Singapore in his lifetime. He says that Africa is the only continent he has not had the pleasure of visiting and that it is his dream to see before he dies. Although my grandfather is not as religious, all his children, including my father, uncles and aunties have been baptized according to Christian doctrines. My grandfather is a Christian believer despite him not practising his faith now. He goes to church from time to time. My grandfather is a member of the middle class. He had a job stable enough to provide his family with everything they needed. As regards race and ethnicity, my grandfather is a native white American. He was born to white parents with descents from the United States. Samuel has three sisters and two brothers, one of whom is deceased. Auntie Rose died from pancreatic cancer when I was in high school. She was my favourite of all my aunts and uncles. He is still married to his wife. They have been together for over 30 years. My grandfather is a family-oriented man that has never been through divorce. For Samuel, family is the strongest unit that deserves to be maintained at all costs. My aunties and uncles are all within the same age group seeing that they have a two-year difference. My eldest uncle is 42 years, the next uncle is 40. My aunties are 38 and 36 years respectively. My grandfather is well educated. After attending and graduating from Georgetown University, he attained his diploma in international law. While he started a career in human law, his life took a different trajectory year later when he got recruited into the military. He was recruited at 23 years, and he served in various positions until his retirement at 64 years in 2014.

Family, Family Members and General Life

As mentioned, my grandfather is a family-oriented man. This can be seen from the fact that he has never gone through a single divorce case in his life. Additionally, Samuel has been with one woman( my grandmother) his entire life. This speaks to his strong family ties and love for his family. My grandfather mentioned that he is the kind of man that likes to be involved in the matters of his children and grandchildren. He has three grandchildren that he absolutely adores. He enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren at every opportunity he gets. During summer, he hosts a family retreat at his Ohio home, where he gets a chance to gather everybody in one place. For him, it is an opportunity to bond with his children, get to know his grandchildren better, and an opportunity to resolve family problems and discuss future prospects. My grandfather mentioned that the hardest time of his life was six years ago when he lost one of his daughters, Auntie Rose to pancreatic cancer. He admits that her death was a huge blow to him and the rest of the family. Her death brought him and his family together. Today, he says that he shares the best relationship with his two remaining sons and daughters. He says he is most proud of them and the live that they have given to themselves. For Samuel, his family is his pride.

Achievements and Small Moments

During the interview with my grandfather, I learned a lot regarding his highest and lowest moments. His most significant achievement was making it to Georgetown University, where he completed a diploma in Human rights. Another defining moment was when he met my grandmother and engaged her within six months of knowing her before marrying her. He insisted that his life took a turn for the better after he tied the knot with his wife. Another defining moment in my grandfather’s life was when he made a transition in his career. For him transitioning from human law practice into the military was the best decision of his life. He mentioned that he lived his most fulfilled life when serving in the military. He found happiness and fulfilment in serving his country. Over the years he served in the US Army, he rose through the ranks and retired while serving as a Major General, a position he had held for close to eight years. My grandfather had rose through the ranks to become a general within no time. Evidently, he loved his work to the core, which explains his fast-tracked career in the military. His smallest moment was the time when he lost his daughter to pancreatic cancer and leaving the army.

Joy, Pain and Disappointments

My grandfather reported that one of his happiest moments was when his eldest son (my uncle) graduated from the school of medicine at Harvard University. My uncle is a cardiothoracic surgeon. My grandfather is most proud of the achievements of all his children, but without a doubt, this one takes the lead. He is also proud of his other children, including my father, as they are all doing great in life. His most painful moments were when he had to stay away from his family when he was serving his country. He mentions that, at times, he would wait up to six months to get reunited with his wife and children. It was hard for him, seeing that family is important to him and staying away for that long was not easy. His most disappointing moments were when my auntie, a lawyer, got declined from Harvard Law School. It had always been her dream to attend law school, but unfortunately, he did not make the cut. She ended up attending Stanford University, which is an equally esteemed law school.

Conclusion

In closing, this exercise has taught me valuable lessons to take away. I have learned the importance of family and the need to value and love them hard. My grandfather is a staunch family man. He loves his family and will do anything to keep them happy. This is an important lesson that I take away from him. Moving forward, I will be more intentional with my relations with my parents, siblings, and friends. Essentially, I learned to love hard and live a fulfilled life as my grandfather did.