The Mahla Method

*My Free-Write*

     My mother, Corrine Robinson Joyner, was diagnosed with stage 4 uterine cancer early January of 2021. After many doctors appointments, gruesome chemotherapy, surgery, and lots of hope, my mom fought a hard, long, and courageous cancer battle. She passed away on December 22nd, 2021. Since then, I have been trying to figure out a way to honor her love, how she lived, and maintaining her legacy. Personally, ever since that somewhat cold day in December, I have felt somewhat empty. 

    After the constant showers of love and support from everyone who knew my mom and even those who didn't know her, there has been one person and more specifically, one family that has constantly provided comfort whether they knew it or not. That comfort would've been represented through eating dinner all together. Something I definitely took for granted.. and something that will never fully be complete without my mom for my family.

    For this blog post, I wanted to focus on observing people and their interactions with each other.  I chose to observe The Mahla family. This blog post will emphasize the main idea of being observant within the journalism realm. Throughout this observation, not only did I learn more about each and every person in the family, I was able to see the key values rooted within the Mahla household. 

Parents

When you think of a mother, one may think of certain things....

• The backbone of the family 
• Forgiving 
• The "motherly" love  

When you think of a father, one may also think of certain things....

• The protector 
• Other backbone of the family
• The "Dad" jokes

Siblings

When a family has siblings, the stereotype is that they may "fight a lot" or "not support one another", however, that hasn't been the case here in the Mahla household.  According to the University of New Mexico of Health Sciences, people with siblings develop certain qualities faster such as the following:  "empathy, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement". 

The Mahla Method 

    Within close observation, I have seen certain values within their family which all heightened throughout observing the dinner and their game night interaction. Family is love, care, lifetime commitment/dedication, and loads of support.Sometimes disagreements or conflict may arise, yet being reminded of the strong support system, a family will always push through. Just throughout my two observations, I can see all of those things within the Mahla household. The hospitable environment has resonated with me since my observations.