Families come in different shapes and sizes. Families can also be blended and quite unique.
Family is not only blood relatives though.
“I think family can be anyone as long as you love them,” senior Artem Clay said.
There are different disadvantages and advantages when it comes to having a blended family, sophomore Genavie Carrera said.
“Some of the disadvantages that comes with having a blended family is that it is very crowded,” she said. “You don’t get a lot of attention, and you always have to share stuff.”
Blended families also have advantages, Carrera said.
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The pros of being in a blended family are that you are never alone, you have a lot of friends and we can have fairly big events.
— Genavie Carrera
Having a blended family can mean having numerous siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.
“I have six siblings total,” Carrera said, “two sisters and four brothers.”
Not everyone gets along all the time, said Clay.
‘I’d trade my brothers for sisters,” Clay said. “Actually, they are already like them.”
As a member of a blended family, holidays can be trying, Carrera said.
“I hate the holidays because they usually start off fun but they digress with arguments because members get tired of being around each other. Sometimes the holidays are fun though; like for Christmas we get to open gifts early,” Carrera said. “We go to a field during Easter and play Red Rover and it gets really scary and competitive.”
Birthdays can also be a little bit more complicated with blended families.
“In my family, girls get to do big things,” Carrera said. “We get to choose where we want to eat, invite friends, and shop. The boys get to do small things like staying at home but having cookouts.” Being in a blended family can also means spending a lot of time together with each moment different from the last.
“Every moment with my family is usually funny,” junior Jamie Guerrero said.
Bonding is very important, especially when spending a lot of time together, Clay said.
“Any time we spend together, we’re bonding, whether it’s good or bad,” Clay said.
Some events in a family member’s life can effect the entire family itself.
“When my older brother had his baby, we got a lot closer as siblings and our family got closer in general because we all love and care for the baby so much,” Guerrero said.
Each sibling has their own favorite part of being in a blended family.
“My favorite part of our family is all the trips we go on and all the time we are able to spend with each other,” Guerrero said.
