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.

The three items I would choose include, pictures and childhood videos, a blanket knitted by my grandmother and my grandmothers cookbook. The family pictures and videos include photographs of my parents, siblings, and extended family which portray memories throughout my life. The videos are important to me because I think it is special watching the videos and these videos document major life events. The photographs and videos would help me remember my home and culture. The blanket knitted by my grandmother was given to me when I was a little girl and I took it everywhere with me. This item represents my grandmother and what she meant to me. Finally, I would take my grandmothers cookbook which has her favorite recipes in it.  These are recipes we made together while she was still alive and would remind me of my culture and provide comfort.

            Upon arrival if I had to give up two items and only keep one I would be devastated to give up any of these items because it was challenging enough to limit it to just three items. Losing your entire home and starting over is extremely stressful and these items provide me with comfort. I am not sure how I would make the decision of which items to eliminate and I would truly struggle giving up the items.

            I now realize as some families leave their homes due to catastrophic events they are faced with these challenges. I gained an understanding of how much my culture means to me and how challenging it would be to move somewhere unfamiliar without many of the items that make me, me. This exercise allowed me to appreciate my culture and be grateful for the life I currently have.