My Family Culture

Scenario: 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.

I love my family so much and I value our culture and relationships. Thinking of three things to take with me to a new country is difficult but here are my three things…

1. My grandmother’s photo album

2. Family values

3. A bible

My grandmother’s photo album shares so many memories for our family. My grandmother had 11 children, so I am truly fortunate to have a big family. I would want to be able to view the pictures to revisit wonderful memories. These pictures would allow us to share stories and appreciate one another. I would also take my family values because despite where we end up, I have to my family in my heart. I was brought up to show kindness, and to have compassion for others.  That saying of giving the same respect to the janitor as you do the CEO is how I was raised. Also, my parents showed me how to not judge a book by its cover because we get scrutinized too much as it is and we must be the change you want to see. Last but not least I would take my bible. Life comes with its share of ups and downs and reading God’s word helps me and my family get through good and bad times.

I would show other people better than I could tell them about how much my family culture means to me.  My family culture is important to me and these items represent who we are. Simple gestures from caring greetings to lending a helping hand or even saying a prayer for someone else shows what my family culture is. I am always up for great communication as I like to keep an open mind and learn from others to understand their culture.

I would be hurt if I had to give up something but the items, I picked will always be represented even without they physical item such as the photo album. I would keep my bible as a way to help one another through these hard times.

The insight I have gained about myself is that family means more to me than I realize and that sometimes I may even take them for granted. I have such a strong support system that I would always want to make sure I take time to values and appreciate them. Even with our family culture we still may have different culture based on our environments and experiences. I want to make sure I understand and learn from them as well as others.