Relatives — Good or Bad, We all have to deal with it

We all have relatives. Whether close or distant. Many or few. We might not see each other very often but they’d be our back-up. Or…would they?

That’s a question I’ve had for a few years and still couldn’t figure it out. People are different. So it makes prefect sense that we got relatives with various personalities. Some are supportive, some gossipy, some annoying.

But whether we like them, we do need to meet them a few times a year (or less, just family preference here). Well, I do have a bunch of close relatives and we meet quite often like once a month. We enjoy getting along. But I am a human. I do dislike some of my relatives. Oh. Or let’s say only one of them. We usually meet only when necessary. Say like, on Chinese New Year or my Grandma’s birthday. Though I try hard to avoid talking with her even on these days. Anyway, why would I dislike her? I guess it’s one of the most common reasons why we hate our relatives — Annoying.

It’s ok to ask about how I am doing. It’s nice of people to do so. But things got cramp when they’re asking only for making talks. Or when they’re asking some idiotic questions. Either way, I guess no-one wants to answer that, right?

It’s Chinese New Year now so our family and relatives gathered and had a party a few days ago. It was fun — except that the relative I don’t like literally dogged me. She didn’t hunt or stalk me or anything. But to me, it was worse. She poured out all her questions to me and demanded my answers. From something like “Wow, your phone screen seemed to be broken. Why did you even use a glass screen-protector?” to “You’re staying here? Isn’t that boring for you as a teenager? I’m going to Tsim Sha Tsui to watch the parade! They’re so great. I go there every year. Like last year…”

If that don’t sound irritating, imagine someone’s shouting those questions near your ears! She’s got such a loud voice too. I did show my reluctance but it clearly didn’t work. So I bear all the crap she said all day long. What’s worse is that she is not my cousin, she’s my aunt (hmm.. She’s actually my Dad’s brother’s wife. But that’s a bit complicated, so I’ll go with ‘aunt’). That means I need to pay respect to her. How could I do that given some those things she kept saying to me?

Although I don’t like this relative, I do love my family and relatives in general. I mean, they’re the people who always stand by us, no matter what.

But sure not everyone is that lucky. Not everyone’s got great relatives, or even family members. I’ve heard lots of bad stories in a family. It happened a lot with relatives. After all , we’re not very close, at least not as close as we are to our parents. And even parents can be evil in some cases.

So what I’m trying to say here is don’t let them put you down. No matter how distracting, bothering or irritating their words sounds. You are good. And you are YOU. Not the person they think you are. Or they think you should be.

Hey, it’s ok to ignore them. so long as you’re good about it.

If you happened to have the same experience, I’d love to hear your story.