The members of the Carrera/Guerrero family (along with one sibling’s girlfriend) gather together. The family has six children with three girls and three boys.
Having a big family can come with advantages and disadvantages.
Sophomore Savannah Cantu said growing up in a big family can be almost “bipolar.”
“Growing up with a big family can be easy at sometimes but hard at others,” Cantu said. “There’s always something going on at our house and I usually am never bored.”
Senior Caitlyn Hilbers said although growing up with a big family can be hard she would never alter it.
“It gets very bust and chaotic at times,” she said, “but I would never change it.”
Being the oldest comes with cause and effect, junior Ryan Cantu said.
“Being the oldest means I have the most responsibility,” he said. “It gets kind of exhausting but I get used to helping out my family.”
Sophomore Parker Hilbers said there’s always a family member by his side when he needs to talk to someone.
“There are always a lot of people at my family events,” he said. “I’m never alone and I always have someone to talk to when I’m feeling down.”
Sophomore Jesse Cantu said there is always an advantage and a disadvantage to a big family.
“An advantage of being in a big family is that I always have a friend to talk to when I’m lonely,” Jesse Cantu said. “A disadvantage would be that I have to share a lot of my stuff with everyone.”
Big families can have arguments but most of time they are friendly with each other, Caitlyn Hilbers said.
“A stereotype is that people don’t think we get along,” she said. “I mean yeah we fight sometimes but we get along a lot of the time!”
Savannah Cantu said she can connect with others in her family.
“I think my favorite thing about my family is that they relate to everything I go through,” Savannah said. “If I haven’t gone through it, I’m sure my older brother has.”
Jesse Cantu said being a twin can make individuality more difficult.
“Being a twin in a big family is a bit hard,” he said. “People already think I’m no different from the rest of my family so it makes it a little harder to be a individual with someone who’s almost exactly like you.”
Parker Hilbers said his older brother has influenced his personal growth.
“My older brother Hayden has had a huge impact on me,” he said. “He has taught me a lot of things that have made me a better person.”
Ryan Cantu said he has to find the perfect balance between his home life and his school life.
“My life can be harder than the rest of my family because of all the weight on my shoulders from being the oldest,” he said. “I have to balance the responsibilities with my home life with everything I have going on with school and sports.”
Every big family comes with its perks and its downsides, Caitlyn Hilbers said.
“Something I really like about my family is that I basically have a built-in best friend,” Caitlyn Hilbers said. “I dislike how crazy and loud it can get sometimes though.”
