My Family Culture

The three items I would take with me, if I had to take refuge in an unknown country is a Bible, my family southern recipes and a CD of my family’s singing group, Chorus of faith.

These items are important to me because it is the foundation of my family culture.  My grandmother was from Memphis, Tennessee and she had thirteen siblings. She moved to New York with three sisters and they brought their southern style cooking. My grandmother and great aunts spent a lot of time together in the kitchen, talking and cooking. Our family would gather together monthly and on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. We would cook and bring different southern dishes such as fried chicken, candy yams, collard greens and sweet potato pies. On Sundays after church my immediate family would have a family dinner.  My grandmother and her sisters also brought their deep faith in God and were very passionate about teaching their children and grandchildren about the bible. Their passion and faith birthed a choir called the Chorus of Faith, the sisters sang at different churches and events. Their children and grandchildren were recruited to sing in the group.

I would be disappointed and fearful, if I arrived to a new country and was told I could only keep one of my three personal items. I would be concerned that my culture would be lost and I would be forced to adapt to the new country’s culture. However, it would motivate my family and I to uphold the stories behind the personal items I had to give up.

As a result of this exercise and this week’s topic, I realized the importance of maintaining my family’s culture. In the past years my family’s gatherings are dwindling and I am motivated to reunite my family.