Roles and myths in a Famliy

1. A big myth in the Meurell family has to deal with the men. All Meurell me are big story tellers. We exaggerate a story to make it humerus and to get our point across. A good example of this is whenever I'm with my dad out in California. He always throws big parties where friends and family members come to catch up on the past times. My dad has two younger brothers and one of his younger brothers has a son close to my age. So their are five Meurell men at these parties. Anytime throughout the night, you can walk threw the house and find a group of people surrounded by either myself, my dad, uncle Eric, uncle Jimmy, or my cousin Daniel. I'm not sure why it is, but for some reason we Meurells strive to be the center of attention. Last Christmas we all gathered in a circle to exchange presents. When my dad handed my sister his present for her he spoke in a mystical tone. "Now theirs a story behind this present," he would say to us. " I was walking the streets of Scotland when a sparkle caught my eye....." He never seemed to disappoint with his stories. I've had the "Meurell gift" ever since I was in fifth grade when I gave a comedy routine for my school talent show.

Although I have the gift, I sometimes choose to ignore it. Whenever I'm with my friends I would rather sit back and enjoy what they have to say other than speak up.

2. When it comes to my family I feel like I'm the stabilizer. In my Columbus house I lived with my mom and my sister. Living with two females without any other males isn't an easy task. Trust me. There have been many times where I just wanted to pack up my things and fly to California and live with my dad. But I don't because I know my family will fall apart. My mom and sister fight a lot. It isn't clear to me why, but I feel like if I left, my mom and sister would kill each other. So I always just dealt with them and tried to calm both of them down whenever they were mad at each other or at me. On the other hand when I'm with my father (for the short time that I see him) I feel like I'm just an add on. I know that's terrible to say and I know my dad and his family don't try and make me feel that way, but that's just how I feel. I'm the kid who comes over once in a blue moon, who has to pull up and extra chair at the dinning room table because the table on sits four. I love them very much, but since I never see them it's like staying over at a "distant friends house," always asking where the towels are, and asking if you could grab something out of the pantry. I love to make myself sandwiches.

Also I feel like I'm two different people when I'm with both families. When I'm with my mom I feel like the good kid of the family. Don't get me wrong my sister is a good kid, but I think that just because I'm younger I'm seen as the good kid. However when I'm with my dad I feel like the bad kid of the family. My step-sister is becoming to be a Doctor, my sister is a Student of Honors, my step-brother is a genius..... and I hate Thanksgiving. Me on the other hand, struggle to get a 3.0 average. Whenever I'm with them I feel like I'm pressured to catch up with them when in reality, I'm doing the best I can.