Most people's lives are complicated by family relationships. How you grow up can affect your self-esteem and is your emotional and psychological blueprint for life. Family is the first teacher in a child's life. You can learn morals, good manners and valuable life lessons. How one is raised can add both negatively and positively to society. Family relationships can set the tone for how one feels about family, and traumatic events can challenge those views and feelings. My mother's sudden death was the event that challenged my family to see if the bonds that bind were strong enough to hold. It was also an event that would determine the outcome of my feelings towards my family. I am a product of "other people's parenting." This occurs when extended relatives care for a child and complement or supplement what parents can or cannot provide (Beyond the Nuclear Family, 2011). Since I was a child, my family has always been involved in my life. As the firstborn of teenage parents—my mother was sixteen and my father nineteen—the responsibility of raising me was shared by my grandparents, aunts, and uncles; the same goes for my sister born three years later. Even though my parents were not married, my father's presence was so constant in our lives that we did not miss the fact that he did not reside at home with us. My uncle lived with my mother, sister, and I, so he acted as the authoritarian when my father wasn't around. Growing up in a home with close relatives gave us a strong sense of security because my uncle was able to step up and fill in the gaps. We were raised to believe that the eldest brother in the family had authority over the other siblings and the eldest brother's role was...... middle of paper ......moved to Georgia to attend school, my daughter Major changed jobs and also moved to Georgia because she didn't want Tia to be in an unknown situation without a family. My opinions and feelings about family remain the same from childhood to adulthood. I am fortunate to have been born into a family where morality, love and genuine concern exist. I grew up with a close-knit and helpful family. The strong Christian values ​​and morals that were instilled in me in my childhood, I have passed on to my children and now to my grandchildren. My family was what made me who I am today. Works Cited DePaulo, Bella. “Beyond the nuclear family”. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/Summer 2011 issue. Network. April 10, 2014Pipher, Mary. “Beliefs about the family” Mutual refuge: rebuilding our families. New York: Ballantine Publisher, 1996. 406-411. Print