The Not-So-Flawless Family
Living in a society obsessed with perfection, I find ways to embrace the imperfections
I'll be the first to admit that I am not perfect. I swear like a sailor, I take too many naps, and I am really rambunctious. But I'll be the last to say that I need to change who I am. We live in a society where it is emphasized that perfection is success. You have to have the perfect family, perfect house, and perfect job to be "truly" happy. But I was raised differently than that. My parents always told me, yes it's important to do well in school and be a moral and just person, but no, it is not necessary to be the "best" at everything. They told me that it's okay to not be perfect.
I live in a house with three brothers, a set of parents, and two cats. Things can definitely become crazy. There is a lot of screaming, arguing over possessions, and tears. A pediatrician told my mom and dad that they had bad parenting skills because of the way my brothers and I have turned out. That pediatrician is a bitch. My family is less than perfect, but we are NOT bad people. My parents work endless hours every week to make sure there is dinner on the table, there are clothes on our bodies, and that there is funding for my brothers and my college tuition. Yes, they get angry at us and play mind games on occassion, but they love and support my siblings and I so much that our debt to them is unmeasureable. They aren't "perfect" parents, and we don't have the perfect family dynamic, but we embrace what we do have. We understand that we have flaws in our personalities, but we find ways to encourage these imperfections and nourshish them into traits that will make us successful people.
My brother Tony, a 20 year old political science major at UW-Madison, is very opinionated. He is a genius, but he thinks he is always right. That is one his flaws. But he channels this trait in a positive way by going to school to become a lawyer, which is a job career where you have to be confident in your views and argue your opinion to win a case. My youngest brother Dominic, a first year middle schooler, is very controlling. He likes the occurence in the house to tailor to his prefences (like the volume of the tv and the food being a certain type.) That is one of his flaws, but he learns how to cope with it. In his free time, he teaches an imaginary class where he is in control. The students in his pretend world listen to his rules and do things the way that he likes them. He is able to have a sense of control in his world without disturbing the preferences of the others in the house. My middle brother Joey, a 15 year old high schooler, is very short tempered. He gets angry very easily, and he is not afraid to express it. But he takes this flaw of fiery passion and channels it into his soccer playing. He takes negative energy and turns it into a positive release.
My family has flaws and so do I, but we understand that these imperfections don't limit who we are as people. We take the less-than-favorable parts of our personalities and turn them into traits to positively affects our social, academic, and family lives. Here is a list of my favorite flaws that make me the unique person that I am today.