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 items I would take when my family and I are evacuated would be difficult to choose because of the broken family life I had while growing up. I only have a few items that link me to my family and heritage that would be relevant to pass on to my children no matter the situation.
The first item I would choose is my parents wedding picture because I lost them at such an early age. This picture means a lot to me and my family because it represents generations that my children and grandchildren did not get to meet. With the picture are stories that are passed down by my sibling that I share as well. This is a great way to help us all remember family members. The second item I would choose is my wedding/anniversary ring because it shows my commitment to family and the values I have worked hard to instill throughout my family. The last thing I would choose is my family bible because it contains the history of my family for many generations. This bible is passed down through the years and has personal notes written by relatives
The way I would explain my chooses to others would be to just let them know that I lost both my parents at an early age and I have few items that truly show my family culture. My family culture is blended with many diverse layers as I believe everyone’s is-it would be great to have something from my relatives overseas but alias that is not to be. The feelings that I would have after arrival and finding out that I could only keep one of the items would be very hard to come to terms with, but I would understand and pick my family bible because it holds so much information that could help my family and they would be able to document our trials throughout the evacuation.
I think that after doing this assignment I have come to terms with the fact that I need to reevaluate what is really important to me and my family. I lost so many family memories when I became a foster child and was too young to do anything about our personal belongings that most of my childhood items from my parents where lost forever. Therefore, it is very hard to put this list together-my father’s flag from his casket and medals would be items that would have gone well here, but so be it-life goes on and we persevere. I am continuing to learn more about my family culture and ask more questions of my brothers and sisters as they are older than me and remember more.
Your post was very touching and I have so much respect for you and everything that you have been through.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this post. I think the items that you chose really represent your family very nicely. Picking only three items was hard, and really makes one think about the importance and meaning of these items, but mostly the emotional and memorial value they hold.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing a part of your life. The items you chose were a great representation of your family. I too lost my mother at an early age and I understand were memories may get lost. Nevertheless, the love shared never dies.
ReplyDelete