I never knew much about my family's interactions, but as I was doing research for the genogram project, I noticed some trends starting to emerge. Some of the dominant behavioral patterns found in my family include practicing religion, racism, obtaining at least a high school education, owning a business, divorce, and cohabitation. On my mother's side, religion was a big part of their family. Grandfather was a pastor and came from the mountains of Virginia in 1936, so Christianity was passed down from generation to generation and was strict in his family, partly because he was an alcoholic and because of the stigma of atheists in that time period. On my Father's side, religion wasn't as prevalent, but they got up and went to church every Sunday because that was the norm and a way to socialize with others. Now religion plays a bigger role in my family, but not so much in my cousins' lives. Along with religion in the home, racism was also prevalent in both sides of the family. It was passed down from parents and peers. It has been taught to younger generations, but as they socialize with different races in school and in life in general, the trend is fading (Nasser). Most of both families earned college degrees, if not GEDs. Even Marie (my grandmother on my father's side) married and became pregnant before graduating from high school in 1957. The general consensus on why it was important to finish high school was because “you have to finish what you start.” My family didn't drop out to work on a farm but they didn't go to college either, in fact some thought higher education was a bad thing. Owning a business has been a trend that has been true for both sides of my family. William and David Self - ... middle of paper ......, are still business owners. It is hoped, however, that racism is a trend destined to disappear. Analyzing my family through the eyes of a sociologist showed me that although my family has come a long way throughout history, it hasn't changed that much. Works Cited “Family Patterns.” - Models of family structure through the modern age, the twentieth century. Np, nd Web. April 15, 2014. Hayes, Erin. “More Americans are waiting longer to get married.” ABC News. ABC News Network, June 29, 2014. Web. April 10, 2014. Kunz, Jenifer. "Divorce." Think about marriages and families. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 238-30. Press.Staff, NPR. "More and more young people are turning away from religion, but why?" NPR. NPR, January 15, 2013. Web. April 16, 2014. Nasser, Haya El, and Paul Overberg. "Census Tracks 20 Years of Sweeping Change - USATODAY.com." USATODAY.COM. USATODAY, August 10, 2011. Web. April 15. 2014.