Family Culture

 

    When we hear the word culture we often think about the social practices of a society or group of people. Countries have different cultures. States can have different practices. Even a town or city can have their own culture or traditions. What we don’t realize is that we have our own cultures within our families. We often don’t realize that we have created a culture until we are out of it. An example was given that a fish does not realize it is in water until it is out of it. We create our own practices, traditions, habits and values within the family unit. However, our family culture is influenced by our social culture. If you live in a different country, your family traditions will be much different than a family of a different culture. Often societies will have traditions that are followed by the family unit. My sister served her mission in the Philippines. There, it is customary to not knock on doors when you arrive. Instead, you just have to yell really loud until someone answers you. If my sister came home and did that in America, it would be seen as weird.

Every family has their own culture. When we go into society and bring these different cultures together it has the possibility of causing contention. It can happen with roommates, a mission companion, or your future spouse. If somebody is used to one way while another is used to a different way, they have to come together and compromise. One thing that I found very interesting for this time in my life was that when we get married, it is our responsibility to create our own family culture. We have to bring together our previous home lives and compromise and create new ones. That is a big responsibility that can influence generations to come.

         Like many people, I never realized that my family had a different culture then other people. When I came up to college, I realized that I shower differently than other people! I know, doesn’t that sound weird? My family does not take long showers. It started with our water heater breaking. We had to space out our showers and only take five minutes or nobody would get hot water. When it was fixed, everybody subconsciously still spaced out our showers and took shorter ones. Now that I am in college, I thought it was weird that my roommates would take hour long showers while I only take maybe ten minutes. That was a smaller and less serious example. My family’s culture has also affected me in other aspects of my life besides a shorter shower My family has always been very close. They are the people that I can rely on when I am sad or having difficulties. When one of us is feeling sad or having a bad day, we try to make them laugh and forget about their problems. That is just how it has always been. Other families might just know when to leave the person alone. Another family might ignore the problems altogether. My family is also very loud and crazy. If you aren’t laughing, wrestling, or doing something crazy, are you really having fun? This has had a major impact on who I am. I love to mess around and always be joking but I have had to learn that there are times and places to be serious and that can be hard for me. I have a harder time expressing my serious feelings because I almost feel bad that I am not joking around. Our families culture has a major impact on who you are and what you will become.