My Family Culture

Three small items I would take would be a rosary, camera, and a journal.

The rosary means faith, devotion, patience, and perseverance.  My Grandmothers taught me the importance of the rosary especially in times of hardship. My family lives by faith, a faith that grows with age and maturity.

The camera is a symbol of being able to freeze time, a time to capture the essence of an experience.  My love of photography stems from the many family functions we hold, being able to look at photographs from generations back is such an exceptional opportunity to teach the younger ones about our family history and culture.

My Grandmothers loved to write, I believe this love was passed down through out the family; we love to journal about life, about feelings, about each other. Journaling is a way to escape the real world if only for a moment, it is a source of meditation other than alcohol and drugs; this we were taught at a very young age.

If I were told I could only bring one item, I would be fine with that; I would choose my rosary, it’s simple—with faith you can conquer and survive anything. The other two items would be missed but stepping out on faith would fill the void.

As a result of this exercise, I am reminded how much influence both of my Grandmothers have had on my life, as well as my bigger family. There is so much history that was shared through their eyes; how I wish they were still on this earth to continue sharing. I think I am also reminded how important faith is in my culture and family; it’s the glue that keeps us together through the cracks we experience through out life.