Imagine the
following:
A major
catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your
country. 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 first item that I would choose
to take with me would be my great-grandmothers ring. My mother gave me this ring on my 18th
birthday. This item is important to me
because my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother all wore it before
me. The second item that I would choose
to take with me would be my box of family photographs. I would choose these photographs because they
represent my life and because it contains pictures of those that I have loved
and lost over the years. The third item
that I would choose to take with me would be my box of Christmas
ornaments. My grandmother began a tradition
with her first grandchild in which she would buy a Christmas ornament for each
of her grandchildren. Additionally, my
mother also gave an ornament to me and my sister. Each ornament has the year written on it and
I can remember receiving most of them.
Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away suddenly several years ago but
my mother continues the tradition to this day.
If, upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one of these items,
I would be devastated because they represent my family. It would be very difficult to choose to give
up any of these items but if I had to choose one item to keep, I would choose
my box of photographs because they represent my entire family.
This assignment made me realize how
important these particular items are to me.
It also made me realize how fortunate I am to have not experienced such
a devastating event. Finally, it made me
realize how devastating this experience must be for refugees.
Hello Melissa!
ReplyDeleteYou have chosen special items to bring with you! Each of these items have meaning beyond what one can see. Items that are passed down from one generation to another are very special and I can see why you would want to save the ring. Traditions are also very important too. All families have such different traditions. I like your ornament tradition. For my son, I buy a photo framed ornament for each Christmas. I put his picture inside the frame, and hang it on the tree each year. Every year, he gets another. Then, we can remember what he looked like at each Christmas of his life. I think these traditions are special and worth sharing. Photos are irreplaceable, and I did choose photographs to save as well. Pictures are a snapshot in time of people, places, and experiences. We have to remember that our young children have special memories, traditions, and items that represent their families as well.
thanks for sharing!
anne
Anne,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I really like the photo idea for your son, he'll treasure those when he is an adult.
Melissa