IF you look up the word “culture” in a dictionary, you will find that it reads that culture is a way of life. But it doesn’t just mean that—a way of life; culture is everything that was taught to your parents by their parents’ parents’ parents. It goes back all the way to ancient times.
Culture is taught the minute you were born. It is an important heritage that is passed down from generation to generation. I am a good example of culture. I am blessed with more than one culture. My parents make sure that my siblings and I know and practice our culture. We have our culture all around us. It is present in my home thanks to my loving parents.
My parents try their hardest to help protect our culture and instill that knowledge in us. They would tell us stories that were told to them by their parents. They speak our language to us, they cook traditional dishes, and we also listen to our favorite station, 101.1 FM.
We also learn to sing Chamorro songs. My mom helps me with my bilingual homework by helping me translate it from English to Chamorro. Like I mentioned earlier, I am blessed to have more than one culture.
My dad is half-Japanese. He would always remind us about our Japanese heritage by telling us stories and showing us the ways of Japanese culture that he in turn learned from his Japanese mom. In our home, we can see both cultures present. We have lots of family gatherings that insure that we learn about our culture. Traditional foods are mostly served; the adults speak our language and we in turn listen and learn.
I personally think that in every part of the world, in this vast universe, that all people from all walks of life should preserve, pass down, teach, practice and instill their culture so that their children will never forget where they come from, and would always be proud to be who they are wherever they go.
(The author is a 6th grade student at William S. Reyes Elementary School, and this is her winning entry to the school’s Cultural Day essay writing contest.)
