My Family Culture

The purpose of this post is to provide a description of three cultural items that I would choose to bring if my family was required to evacuate to a host country due to a catastrophic event. The first item that I would choose to bring is a women’s devotional bible. My family and I attended church service and practiced Christianity on Sunday. The family values were emphasized through our participation in bible study as well as Sunday school with my family and friends. I chose to bring the bible because an evacuation due to a catastrophic event is a major change and my family will benefit from the religious guide provided by the bible. The second item that I would choose to represent my family culture is a blanket with pictures of family members inside of a family tree. This blanket is a special cultural item because it was created by my mother and shares a story of our family history as well as our ancestors. The blanket is important because it can be used to share our family history and we will always have pictures of our loved ones with us. The last item that I would bring is a pamphlet from the African American History Museum in Washington, DC. My family and I attended several of the opening ceremonies for the museum as well as events. The pamphlet highlights several exhibits in the museum and shares information about African American culture.

If I were told upon arrival that I could only keep one thing, I would choose to keep the family tree blanket. I’m truly a family oriented person and knowing my history as well as understanding my family culture is extremely important. The bible is used as a guide and has many scriptures which can assist my family throughout the evacuation to the host country. Without the bible, my family can always pray together or choose to pray individually for guidance. My family and I can also continue to share valuable scriptures. Although the pamphlet from the African American history museum contains valuable information, I believe my family will continue to have access to the information and will be able to share the information to the future generations if we were unable to keep the pamphlet.

The catastrophic scenario required me to think carefully about my culture and prioritize things which are personally valuable to me. As I reflected on each of the items, the family tree picture was extremely significant and allowed me to connect the most with my family culture. From the family tree, I can learn about my ancestors, traditions, beliefs, and values. I can use other family members as a resource in order to learn more about my family culture. The exercise taught me what I value culturally as an individual.