Family..

Family, what is a family? In a country where family and family members are given such importance, it is essential to understand what this particular word means. Chamber’s dictionary defines the word family as; a family is a set of people related to one another, specially a household consisting of parents and children. Longman’s dictionary however defines family as; any group of people related by blood or marriage. Is that what family is all about? Blood relations, marriage, parents, siblings, and children? Is that the essence of the word family? Where are the feelings, the goals, and the ambitions that make a family go through thick and thin? The essence of a true family is lost, the essence where you truly felt the pain of your children of your siblings of your parents. You look into a Pakistani family and what do you find? A group of people bound by blood, and that is it.

It’s very strange this bond of blood; lifeless. Are the parents excited when their child finally decides what to become in life, do they smile proudly at their child’s ambition? Is a brother grateful when his sister makes him her first cup of tea? Does a son feel the pain a father goes through everyday to make ends meet? Does a mother really know what her daughter is going through? These are feelings that course through one’s blood when presented with them. Does that happen now, does it happen here? No, it does not. What is the use of such a blood bond when these feelings have been erased from the word family? Fear is what is found in this family. Fear of expression, fear of free will, fear of respect, fear of being different. What is right then, and what is wrong? Should a son, a daughter disobey their parents for their own free will? Should a mother, a father enforce their decision on their child for his/her own good? What is more important now? Free will or Respect?

So many questions that I ask, many of which do not have an answer. Where are the answers you may wonder? There is no right or wrong answer, the answer is inside you. You decide what is right and what is wrong for you, nobody else can make that decision for you. You decide whether foregoing your own will for your parents will is worthwhile enough to last a lifetime. You decide whether foregoing your own happiness for your child’s smile is enough for an eternity.