http://uspartysource.com/product/christmas-crackers/
These are Christmas crackers. My dad is from Wales, and in Britain it is a tradition to put them next to your plate at Christmas dinner, and pull them until they pop open and prizes pop out. There is always a paper crown inside, and my family always wears the crowns during dinner. This is an example of how my dad's heritage has influenced my culture.
https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/buttermilk-biscuits-and-sausage-cream-gravy-30499
These are biscuits and gravy. My mom is from Texas, so she makes us Southern food like this, which is a tradition in her family and something I really love. It shows how my culture has been influenced by the southern United States.
https://twitter.com/Sodalicious/status/896383813210693637
Sodalicious is a place where you can buy drinks and treats, and it is a big part of Mormon culture, especially at BYU. Since we don't drink alcohol, we are really into pop and I go to places like Sodalicious with my friends often.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LoveSpoons.JPG
These are Welsh love spoons. It is part of Welsh culture for a man to give a carved wooden spoon to the woman he wants to marry, and my mom has two that my dad has given her hanging up in our house. It is a beautiful tradition that I want to carry on and keep as part of my culture.
https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano
Music is a big part of my culture. There is a saying that goes "To be born Welsh is to be born privileged; not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but with music in your blood and poetry in your soul." All of my family is musical, and I sing and play the piano, something that my mom taught me to do and that she was taught to do by her family.
https://www.amazon.com/Dress-Your-Own-Snowman-Kit/dp/B001LBTTCM
I lived in Minnesota from when I was a baby until I started high school, so part of my culture has been influenced by Minnesota. It is very cold there and there is a lot of snow, so I grew up playing outside, making snowmen and sledding every winter, and I love the cold. I never want to live somewhere hot.
https://www.amazon.com/Old-Town-Canoes-Kayaks-Recreational/dp/B0124XSXOA
This is a canoe; in Minnesota, there are over 10,000 lakes, and a lot of time is spent on the water. My family has a canoe, and we would go canoeing every summer. It is a great family bonding activity, and I have great memories of it. It is part of our culture.
https://www.pexels.com/search/books/
Part of my culture is education. My grandparents and parents all went to college, and all my family is very educated and literate. Books have been a huge part of my life, and we have a ton of them in my house. I have always been encouraged to read and do well in school.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a huge part of who I am. My grandparents all joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they were in their 30's, and since then all my family has been dedicated to the church. The Book of Mormon has always been a part of my life; we read it as a family every night and we learn from it each week at Family Home Evening.
https://www.lds.org/music/resources/using-the-hymnbook
This is a hymn book from the LDS Church. This is also a big part of my culture, because it combines my family's love of music with our love of the gospel. Every Sunday night, we sing hymns together, and my family has always done that.
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cornbread/8990e15c-fc1d-4a8d-b8b3-4b37f45eca49
This is cornbread, another Southern food. My family always eats cornbread when we have soup, and I don't know many other families where I live who eat it. It is a tradition that my mom brought to our family. I always help her make it.
https://www.lds.org/church/news/a-first-look-inside-the-mormon-temple-in-meridian-idaho?lang=eng
Being Mormon, the temple is very important to me and a huge part of my culture: a place where families can be sealed together forever and everyone can receive all the blessings God has for them. I have been blessed to always live close to a temple, so it has been a big influence on my life and brings me peace and happiness.
https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2004-Volkswagen-Passat/
Part of my culture is having a car. Where I've lived, it has pretty much been necessary to have a car to drive to school, church, work, and everywhere. There isn't much public transportation, and the distances are far to walk. Everyone in my family who has a driver's license has a car, which seems pretty privileged and part of upper-middle-class culture.
https://www.o2.co.uk/shop/phones/apple/iphone-se
Along with having a car, having a smartphone is part of my culture as a young, upper middle class adult. I use my phone basically all day, for everything from checking the weather to sending emails and texts to paying my rent. It is something that seems essential, especially to communicate with my family.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LDS_stake_center_in_West_Valley_City,_Utah_(cropped).jpg
This is a church building. Part of my culture is attending church for three hours every Sunday. All of my family does this, and we always have. At church, we are taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and we strive to be more like Him.
http://eighthappyhardts.blogspot.com/2010/09/okay-156-in-postage-doesnt-mean.html
Part of my culture as a Mormon is being a missionary. My father and many aunts, uncles, and cousins have served missions in different places around the globe, and although it is not required, it is highly encouraged in my family and church. I served a mission in Chile, and now my brother is on a mission as well. It is a big part of who I am.
https://avocadosfrommexico.com/avocados/
Before my mission, I did not really like avocados, but part of Chilean culture is eating a ton of avocados every day. I learned to love them during the year and a half I spent there, and now I eat them a lot and they have become part of my culture.
http://blog.callingpost.com/blogfamilyreunionstats/
Part of my culture is having a big family with lots of siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is common for LDS families to be large; my mom comes from a family of 9 and my dad from a family of 8, and I have over 40 first cousins. Every few years, we have big family reunions where we all get together and have fun, which is part of our culture.
http://www.sigmabeauty.com/makeup/c/316
Part of my culture as a 21-year-old female is makeup. It is generally expected that you'll wear makeup, and true to the stereotype, I usually do. I feel better when I'm wearing makeup, and since mostly everyone else does, it's something that becomes a habit and tradition.
https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/texas-sheet-cake/1276938
This is Texas sheet cake. This is part of my family's culture; we have been making this cake for generations, and we use my great-grandma's recipe for every family birthday. It is another part of my culture that comes from the South.
While I was thinking about my culture, I realized just how many things have influenced me. I am grateful for all the experiences I've had and the places I've lived and visited, as well as my family's heritage. I also realized how blessed I am to have all of the privileges I have, because there are a lot of people who consider the things I consider necessities to be luxuries. I have done well in school because of my culture of being educated and having things like phones and computers, and I have never felt stereotyped against, since I am white and middle class. The problem with this is that I have never completely understood what it must be like to feel like a minority or to feel like schools are unfair toward you.
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