In my family emotions are not often expressed to each other. If we are angry, hurt or upset by a family member we almost never let them know and if or when we do it is almost always taken the wrong way. I have only once ever seen my mother and my grandmother cry and that was at my grandfather’s funeral. I do think that we hide emotions in order to appear strong as if we were always conditioned to believe that tears are a sign of weakness, which I could definitely believe. A lot of my family is very judgmental, even towards each other so I think that causes us to believe we cannot share everything with certain ones and therefore creates tension and secrets within the family. Anger is not something that my family deals well with, all of us usually keep it hidden. Happiness is shared often, but showing our excitement with each other can often be confused with tones of boredom. I do share my feelings a little differently than others in my family. I do not view tears as a sign of weakness. I don’t usually cry out of sadness but usually out of anger or frustration. I also try and let people know when I’m upset but do have the habit of hiding it for extended periods of time. Instead of talking about anger I either hide it or lash out. I can think of a few scenarios when calm words would have been a better choice than the screams that were exchanged. I do like to share my excitement through giddy laughter and possible jumping up and down, but usually that is saved for