My Family Culture

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

If I had to leave my country and culture to go to a place very different from “home,” I would want to have a few things with me that reminded me of where I was raised and who I am.  After much thought about my family culture and social identity, and what I would want to take with me, I have chosen three items that I would not leave behind.   I would take a small photo album of family Christmas parties that my grandmother keeps with pictures of my entire extended family throughout the years; my stuffed animal that my parents gave me when I was four and had my tonsils out; and a cd of my father singing and playing guitar.

Christmas, in my family, is a big event.  Yes, there are presents, (and a lot of them in my crazy family), and there’s traveling and headaches.  But, every year when my entire family sits down to eat, all of that goes away.  It’s always been the one day of the year when everyone is smiling, telling stories, and sharing time together.  All of my favorite memories of my extended family during my childhood are at Christmastime.  I would want to keep those with me to remind me of the warmth we all share when we’re all together, and how lucky I have been to share so many holidays with the people I love. 

The second item I would be bringing is my stuffed beagle that my parents bought for me when I was four and had my tonsils out.  I had such a strong attachment to it as a child that my mother used to buy him t-shirts when we went on vacation and for Christmas every year.  I would want to bring it with me because it’s been a part of every big moment of my life.  As a child, I held it every time I cried and each time that I was sick.  It went on vacations with us and was in my purse when I went off to college.  It’s comforted me through lonely days and always makes me think of home.  It may just seem like a material item to many, but when I look at it, I see my life go by in moments. 

Lastly, I would want to bring a cd of my father playing the guitar and singing.  Every favorite memory I have with my immediate family revolves around my father’s guitar.  As a child, we would take out dress up clothes and my dad would sing silly songs while my mother, sister, and I would dress up and dance around the living room.  During family parties, my father would take out his guitar and people would crowd around and sing along with my family.  My father and I would sing in talent shows and Christmas pageants.  When I was 17, he taught me to play and encouraged me to perform.  In college, we would perform at a local open-mic together and my mother and sister would come watch; our biggest fans.  During that time, I would fall asleep to the sound of my dad playing Beatles songs over and over again in the room next to mine.  I have memories of my mom and dad singing to one another, and memories of my sister and I “tiptoeing through tulips” around the kitchen table.  Those are memories that represent my family culture to me in the fullest, and ones I hope I never have to lose. 

If upon arrival, I was told I could only keep one of the items I brought with me, it would be difficult to separate myself from the others, but the choice would be clear; I would bring my father’s cd.  The memories that come along with the other items are beautiful and would be greatly missed, but the moments I shared with my family through music represent much more to me.  Much of our interfamily culture has revolved around music and performance.  I feel that the most difficult item to let go of, however, would be my stuffed animal.  Although it’s a material item, I feel that it carries much of my family and personal history and I would be very sad to part with it. 

After completing this assignment, I thought about my family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences.  I have come to the conclusion that, although my family does not have very distinct cultural celebrations and differences, we have developed our own special culture as a family.  We have unique traditions and memories that I truly believe many people do not have in their life.  I’ve had many friends spend time with my family and marvel at the idea of a nuclear family that stays together and loves one another, even though we have all grown into such unique individuals.  It is not our ethnicity or differences that define a family culture, it’s the moments that we share together in happiness and laughter that make us special.  And every evening, even as an adult, that my father pulls out his guitar to play is a night that sticks in my memory and makes me feel closest to my family.