3 ms·
I come from a family of immigrants. Growing up, I at times felt oppressed by the constant throng of cousins and uncles and aunts and family friends at our home.
by lordleft 7y ago
I come from a family of immigrants. Growing up, I at times felt oppressed by the constant throng of cousins and uncles and aunts and family friends at our home...but now that I'm older I greatly appreciate the dense social fabric that envelops my life. I sometimes think that the dark side of a society that extols individuality and independence is the possibility of immense alienation. I'm grateful to live in a country that creates space for self-expression and agency, but I sometimes think that for those who are not used to being part of a big community, life can become quite lonely.
- dominotw 7y agosame. but extended family rarely gets along and really is a force of opression. My cousins family was stigmatized by the extended family when he came out as gay. He feels the constant guilt. All the extended families i've seen are full of gossip, jealousies and backstabbing. Maybe all those things make us human too i don't know.
- dorchadas 7y agoIt's something I'm struggling with now, tbh. I'm not an immigrant but my extended family is fairy close, even out to second cousins (my grandmother's brothers are super close to her, so our families get along; same with part of my grandfather's siblings), and I know I'll miss it. Yet, sadly, there's not many jobs here and if I stay I'll likely stay teaching, which isn't bad but I'm not sure how I long I'd last before burnout. I've got an offer to leave and study Quantitative Finance in a completely different country (one I want to move to and have visited many times) and am wondering if it's worth it. Man, it's difficult. Not to mention all my friends being here too (though I do have some in the new country, thankfully). Having that social inclusion and closeness is super nice, and I know I'd miss it.