My parents separated when I was still a baby. Ever since I've been living with my mom but visiting my dad and his family every week or so. The biggest problem is; I really hate my fathers side of the family. I'm fine with my dad, though he is not like my in hardly any ways, but his family I CANT STAND. They are a bunch of rednecks/hicks and have no regard for anybody else and have terrible moral values. My whole life I've been dragged to every party they have ever thrown because my dad has forced me to go there. They are loud, slobby, drunk and rude. For example, when I was 8 I had broken my leg, so on my way to the basement of the house I was in, one of my uncles pulled down my pants, pushed me down the stairs and said "Hope you had a nice trip, see you next fall." Then just laughed at me. That might seem funny to some people, but NOT me. My dad has been forcing me to see them my whole life (18 years) and I can't stand them. I want to somehow convince my dad to stop forcing me to go to their parties because I hate being around them, but I'm worried my dad will rather refuse, or disown me. Is there anything I can do? I don't want to have this burden haunt my adult life. Thanks
Ultimately, family is about creating strong relationships and providing a sense of meaning and belonging. Families should be a source of unconditional love and a resource for all of us to weather life’s changes and challenge.