Wasteland

Trials:
Family is so influential in who we become. We learn from birth how to interact with others through our families, through both the best of times and the worst of times. Yes, the good is influential, but even the very best families will have communication breakdowns and challenges. The way we learn to handle the challenges in our families can ultimately shape our future relationships.

I chose family as my most influential social construct. I used objects, possessions and people that have to do with our family. We many not choose the families we are born into, but as a parent I can choose aspects of how I want my own family to be. As parents, we can choose our level of involvement in our children's lives; we determine what kind of family we will be to some extent. We decide where and how we invest our time and resources. We decide if our children will get to spend time with their grandparents, cousins, uncles, and other extended family (at least in their younger years). I can choose which events to host, which holidays to celebrate, which family traditions to keep or start. All of these decisions will impact the environment my children grow up in and it will to some extent shape who they become.

I chose family as my most influential social construct, because in becoming a parent myself, I can see what an impact family has on a human being. I come from a divorced family with a history of substance abuse and dependence issues. In this way, I learned what I did not want to become. My pursuit now is to provide the best possible environment for my family and becoming the best version of myself as a role model for my children. That’s why my boys are central in the artwork.

One way my husband and I like to maintain a close family is we play together. The most important thing to our family is playing together. We ski, garden, read, run, bike, sled, play soccer, rock climb, hike, you name it; we just enjoy playing together. The boys also enjoy being active and involved in sports. Often on weekends we can be found at soccer tournaments, cross country meets, football games, basketball tournaments watching the boys do what they love. Thus, was the inspiration to include the sports equipment in the artwork.

Growing up, my family household had issues that many children face this today, but I also had some really great role models and dependable people to model myself after as well. My grandparents were a wall of stability and there are pictures, albums, and even quilts created by my grandparents and their grandparents included in the artwork. My grandparents are also farmers and love the land and love to grow crops. They passed this love of the land and growing plants, so I included some squash and vegetables from our garden.  Also, when I was able to see my dad; we would always run together, this is a love I hope I have passed on to my children, so I have included running shoes in the photo. My dad also took me on vacation once a year after Christmas to ski; this is still something he does today, but now with the boys. So, the skis are also an important part of the picture.

Although we didn’t necessarily study family as one of the social constructs there are aspects that we did study that do connect. For example, it is important to note where my family lives (geography), and the amount of money my family has that allows for opportunities for extracurricular activities and trips (social class). These have been the largest environmental factors in shaping who I am today.