Genogram Assignment

The details of my great grandfather and great grandmother remain vague due to the death

of both my grandparents from my mother’s side. However, there are several factors that have

been passed through generations from both sides. Focusing on great grandparents from my

father’s side, my great grandfather for instance was a good cook and he is remembered as a

renowned chef. He had extreme bonding with his grandchildren and created a conducive

environment for communication, especially counselling. He was short tempered and easily

irritated. Even as this was the case, he was understanding and forgave more easily compared to

other members of his family. He was a religious man and worked part time as an apostle. His

main source of income however was being a chef. He stopped using any forms of drugs when he

got saved and on the contrary, advised people against it during his missions. My great

grandfather was a healthy man whose health started failing after his 90th birthday, possibly due to

old age and a weakened immunity. My great grandmother on the other hand suffered from high

blood pressure with dementia developing during her early 80’s. She was a stay- at- home mum

whose main duty was preparing her daughters for marriage. The sons were taught by my great

grandfather how to be fathers and run a family successfully. My great grandfather was

monogamous and didn’t support divorce or polygamy. In fact, he believed polygamous men

failed their wives and children by not giving fatherhood their all.

I got the chance to interact with both of my grandparents from my father’s side as my

grandparents on my mother’s side passed away when I was a kid. Aspects of my great

grandparents are evident in my grandparents from my father’s side. For instance, my grandfather

is a chef and cooks delicious meals. In fact, even at his old age, he still instructs his

grandchildren to cook a meal from a recipe he prefers. During his younger years, he worked as a
chef in a renowned restaurant which he later quitted and started his own. Even though the

restaurant was shut down, my grandfather’s cooking skills can be seen in my father and brother.

My grandfather developed dementia during his early 60’s with high blood pressure during his

early 30’s. Even with the diagnosis of these diseases, my grandfather is still evidently physically

strong in his 70’s. He has a strong bond with his grandchildren, especially the male ones as he

constantly reminds them of the virtues that makes them men. He is strongly against polygamy

and divorce or separation, arguing that the gospel has advised against it. My grandfather has

never used drugs in his life and constantly advised his own children (my parents) about the

effects of drugs and drug addiction. My grandfather, unlike my great grandfather is slow to anger

and rarely gets irritated or upset.

My grandmother on the other hand is a laid back person. No matter how angry or irritated

she might be, she prefers getting herself out of the equation and showing up when all the anger

and hurt has lessen. She is not a good cook per say but can make edible meals. My grandmother

is more interested in poetry and has exemplary pieces she has preserved over the years. Her

advices require intense thinking due to her constant use of parables and proverbs. I sometimes

wonder why she never published a book. She used to sell and take alcohol before being married

to my father and never believed in marriages. After their marriage however, she became born

again and currently, she is against divorce and separations. This was partly due to the fact that

this was her second marriage having come from an abusive first marriage. She is surprisingly

slow to anger and from their external portrayal of affection, loves my grandfather genuinely till

now.

My parents are a great combination and from my analysis, are more alike to my

grandparent in their love story. For instance, my mother used to sell and take alcohol before
meeting my father. Similarly, her first marriage was violent and didn’t result to any kids. Unlike

my grandparent’s union however, my father doesn’t know how to cook while my mother does.

My father is not a strong believer or follower of the gospel like my grandfather but my mother is.

In fact, my mother is a member of the church committee and preaches frequently in the absence

of the pastor or his wife. Both my parents do not use any form of drugs currently. Unlike my

grandparents however, they do not constantly remind us of the harmful effects connected with

both drugs and alcohol abuse. My father has an office job while my mother is a say- at- home

mum who is more involved in subsistence farming. None of my earlier parents concentrated in

farming as my parents do, in fact, both my great grandfather and grandfather worked as chefs

and protectors of the gospel.

My father has symptoms of mild dementia with episodes of forgetfulness. However, it is

not as severe and is able to carry on his daily activities. My mother on the other hand was

diagnosed with high blood pressure. My mother is easily irritated with series emotional outbursts

characterized by constant complains about life in general and the specific person who has

wronged her. She is easy to forgive but doesn’t forget. In fact, she has a tendency of reminding

someone of a previous wrong once a new wrong has been committed. My father on the other

hand is laid back and reacts to situations similar to my grandmother. He rarely confronts or

attacks anyone, in fact, I don’t remember an instance that he has. He is similar to my

grandmother in so many ways including the fact that he is passionate about poetry and gives

advice in a hidden form. Even though my mother is a house wife, she is extremely hardworking

and provides for the family when our father loses his job or when his salary delays. Unlike my

great grandparents and grandparents, my parents do not divide work on the basis of boys and
girls or male and female. On the contrary, my siblings and I have been taught to be good citizens

rather than good wives and husbands.

Analyzing the two sides of my parent’s families, most of the members who attended

college or gained meaningful education were girls and from my mother’s side. All my siblings

and I have been to college. This can be attributed to the fact that, my mother saw the value of

education, especially for women, from all the women in the extended family who have gone to

college such as my cousins. My father’s side has very few people with college certificates, with

many believing in talents and passion. This can be partly attributed to my grandfather’s ability to

start a restaurant despite his lack of education. It is apparent from the genogram therefore, most

of my family members believe in self-employment.

The most alarming aspect of the genogram is how members of my father’s family live to

their old ages. Both my great grandparents from my father’s side and my grandparents from my

father’s side have lived past 60 years of age. Dementia and high blood pressure have remained

an area of concern for both sides of the family. In my case, I have experienced eye problems that

my mother dates back to her grandfather. None of my family members has died of genetic

disorder. Most were natural deaths, especially due to old age. My grandfather from my mother’s

side died in his sleep at 79 while grandmother from my mother’s side died at 80, probably due to

depression or trauma of losing my grandfather.

I consider myself a hybrid of all these family inherited traits. For instance, all the men in

my family are good cooks while the females are more into poetry. In my case, I consider myself

a good cook and an excellent poet. I am a strong believer of the gospel but I wouldn’t call myself

a preacher, evangelist or a member of the church committee. In fact, I rarely go to church.

However, I observe written and unwritten ethics and code of conduct associated with being a
Christian. I am a singer, q characteristic that can be dated back to my grandfather who was well

known for leading the church choir. Analyzing the earlier generations, it is evident that a good

number of my family never attended college or acquired any meaningful education. My brother

is an excellent cook who aspires to start his own restaurant when the time is right.

I am easily irritated and most people describe me as short tempered. According to my

mother, even as a kid, I would beat up anyone who crosses my path. I am confrontational and

tend to settle issue on the spot instead of cooling down. I am addicted to gambling, which my

mother attributes to my grandfather who lost everything during gambling. I used to take alcohol

but stopped. Apart from me, none of the members of my family use drugs. In fact, my brother

hates drugs with passion and would detach from anyone addicted to it. I believe in love and

marriage and the fact that couples should stick together to old age. This can be attributed to the

fact that, instances of divorce and separations are unheard of in my father’s side while in my

mother’s side, second marriages last until death separates the couples. My sister is addicted to

watching television, a trait present in my mother and most of her family members. My cousin for

instance is addicted to watching movies and following up on new releases.

The trends in the genogram can be attributed to both nature and nature. The traits

involving health related issues can be attributed to lifestyle such as poor eating habits and

exercise. It is amazing that, despite my family having plus size women, none has been diagnosed

with lifestyle related diseases. Occurrence of some disease may be genetically related such as

dementia. The art of entrepreneurship is evident in me having started a salon and looking

forward to owning a restaurant. Regrettably, most of my family members didn’t acquire

beneficial education. For this reason, I put it upon myself to educate as many members of my

extended family as long as they are willing to. I realized that, my deeply rooted academic
ambitions are to let members of my family understand the importance of education. This

genogram has been important to me as I have been able to understand some character traits

common in most of my family members such as love for cooking and poetry.