MY FAMILY CULTURE

We live in a society where everything is digital and computer based, however many people still value momentums that has been important through family generations. I cherish the jewelry and my wedding ring, but I believe that some things can be replaced or upgraded.  The three items that I would choose to take with me into another country are family pictures, my grandfather war medal, and my great-great grandmother’s necklace. Each three of these objects are very important to my family history and culture.  They are items that have been in my family for many generations.

I chose pictures of my family because pictures hold detail of life and memories.  Many of the pictures in my family are pictures that represent the joy, struggles, and heartache that my grandparents and their family members endured in their lives.  They are pictures of pain and joy.  Of course, the pictures of my immediate family which include my husband, children, parents, and siblings are very meaningful and they are items that I want to have as keepsake items.

I chose to keep my grandfather’s war medal, because my grandfather was such a positive inspiration to me.  He died when I was very young, but his services to our country and my family were some of the most proud and memorable moments that I hear about him from older people in my family.  I also know that the medal were very important to my grandmother, therefore I want to continue to treasure this item.

I also chose my great-great grandmother’s necklace because when I turned 21 it was given to me by my grandmother.  It was very important to my grandmother, because I did not get a chance to even see a picture of her, so that is the only memory that I would have of her. My great-great grandmother was killed and this is one of the few pieces of memories that are in my family that belonged to her.

If I was told that I could only keep two of these items, I would be very sad and I would feel like I am losing a piece of my family’s history.

From this exercise, I realized how important my family culture is to me and the items that are a part of my family culture is very special. These are items that I want to be a part of my children and their family’s life’s.  I also realized that as a family culture, it is my job to keep those cultural traditions alive so that my children can learn about their family identity.