Writing Feedback / St. Edwards Essay, Sibling and birth order influence [5]

In her book Original Kin , Marian Sandmaier has written that "A sibling may be the sole keeper of one's core identity, the only person with the keys to one's unfettered, more fundamental self." Describe your relationship with your siblings. Do you think birth order has had a significant impact on who you are? If you are an only child, how has the lack of a sibling shaped your identity?

The relationship between siblings is a very important relationship, it the one of the most long lasting and prevalent relationship in a person's life.

There are times in life when we come across people who change our whole perspective on life. For me, that person is my own sister. Growing up in a very strict and traditional family was always a hard part in my life. Also being the eldest daughter meant that all the pressure was on me. I was always taking care of my sister, and would do all the chores in the house. I barely had any time for myself. There were times when I just wanted to run away from home, but there was one thing that always held me back, and that was my sister's love.

Even though my sister is younger than me, she has always has supported me with every phase of my life. She would always show me the positive outlook on life. I have had many tough times in my life, but during all those times, I always had someone there, who I knew cared for me. She would always encourage me through rough times and taught me important lessons along the way. My sister, Ayesha, always told me that giving up is not an option, but rather facing those problems in a strong manner.

"Ayesha im scared," that is what I told my sister when my parents told me I was going to have an arrange marriage. Even though I knew it was going to happen one day or another, I was just not ready. Every night before we went to bed, I would make her stay up with me for hours. Even though she had school the next day, she would stay up with me all night, and promise me that everything was going to be fine. There was always a sense of certainty in her tone, and it was that assurance that helped me sleep through the night. I never even though that my younger sister would be there for me the way she was. The courage and security my sister provided me helped me become the person I am today.

I always lacked the confidence my sister had. She was always confident in everything she did, and was never scared about what other people thought about her. Her presence and her support, helped me become like her, she help me gain self confidence, and helped me believe in myself. I do believe that birth order had a severe impact in shaping a person's personality or identity. However, I believe that birth order had an impact on our relationship in only one way. My sister had become strong and confident, by seeing all what I had gone through. I believe that she had the opportunity to learn from my experiences, which made her become a strong person. Where In my life I had no one to look up to. I was the first to experience everything in life. Even though my sister is younger than me, she always helped me approach my problems, good or bad, in a very respectable and mature manner.

Undergraduate / 'parents want their children to be happy' - ISSUE OF IMPORTANCE ESSAY for UT [2]

Materialism is defined as placing value and importance on material possessions. Our society today has become more and more materialistic, and considers material assets to be essential to their life and their identity. This can be especially seen in our children today. Spotting a three year old at an Apple store being bought an IPod is just too much. Children are being pampered at such an early age, that once they start to grow, they do not understand the true value of money.

As a child, my siblings and I were raised in a way where we were never just given anything for being kids. We had to do both household chores, and save up our allowances; or bring all A's on our report card. Our father would give us each five dollars for each A we had on our report card. When we would save up our money that was when we were able to go out and buy toys or games. This taught us the proper value of money and how hard it was to earn it. When I would want to buy something I would think twice before buying it thinking do I really need it? Since I knew that I would have to save up all over again if I would spend all my money in something I really didn't need. However, nowadays, many children are just provided with expensive toys or electronics. Children are not provided with these because they have done something, but simply because other children at school have it or because their parents can afford it. They are the ones who are buying for their children at such a young age. This causes the child to become immune to such kind of habit and slowly starts to evolve as they get older.

My friend's son, who is a six year old, knows all the brand names and has a notebook where he writes down all the things he wants his father to buy for him. At age six he does not want to wear polo without the Polo logo on it. Or whenever they go shopping, whenever the mother buys something, the child notices and claims that now it's his turn to buy something. Who is here to blame? Parents are the number one factor, I feel to blame for such children behavior. Parents either intentionally or unintentionally have stimulated their children toward materialism through the activities or choices they make for themselves.

Another reason I feel that materialism has escalated in our children is because of the media. Media is an enormous factor in our children's lives. Number one being the commercials our children watch on a daily basis. Television commercials have been proven to escalate materialism. Television is always watched very carefully by children, and when they see those colorful toys on the TV, they are more inclined to want it. Also those branded magazines with children wearing branded clothes, makes children want those exact clothes as the girl or guy in the magazine on the front page cover.

As children get older they start to associate their clothes and the brands they wear with their social status. Also as they get older, they just want to buy stuff simply because they can tell their friends how much they have even though they have no need for it, such as the number of shoes, purses, or games. Children have learned to evaluate others and themselves by their exterior being. Young girls aged ten or twelve are getting their nails done with their fathers' credit card. Nowadays, there is a trend of children roaming around the mall, swiping their parent's credit cards and fulfilling their irrational desires. With this kind of upbringing, children do not understand what the parents are going through in order to fulfill their children's desires, because the child only worries about what makes him or her happy.

I agree that nowadays children have become more materialistic than the previous generations, but that has only happened because we have allowed it to happen. All parents want their children to be happy, but that clearly does not mean that they should be provided with worldly possessions in order to be content. In order for our children to have a brighter and independent future, parents should change themselves first. Our society has become a consumerist society, if the adults out there want every single thing out there, then how will we be able to control our children.