3rd Post! Family Cultures and its effects on you!

         This week I wanted to discuss how the social classes and cultures that we are surrounded by affect our behaviors and attitudes in our own family units. We truly are fabricated by our environments and how the people that raise us react to those environments. A very simple and minimal example of this principle is that my parents raised my siblings and I in the state of Oregon. The area of Oregon where we lived was, for the most part, the stereotypical Oregon city. A part of the classic stereotype is being very environmentally conscious, and in my area we were. More specifically our community was big on recycling. It was very normal to recycle cardboard, cans, plastic, etc. Anything you could think of, we separated it from our normal trash. So, when I moved to Idaho, my roommates I was living with (who were mostly from the South) did not separate the recycling from the trash. And to add to it, my apartment complex I lived in did not do recycling separate either. I remember thinking,  

“How is this not the standard? I thought everyone did this!” 


And I remember having a moment of realization that where I was coming from really did have an influence on my views and the habits I had accumulated over the years. Although this is a great example of the geographical cultures can affect a person’s behaviors, there is also culture within each family. 

Even within my own immediate and extended family we have our own culture that shaped and molded me into the person I am today. My family, for the most part, is incredibly involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My grandpa had been a bishop a couple of times, my mom was relief society president, dad was Elder’s Quorum President, you name it. And our activity in the church was deep rooted into my great grandparents' lives as well. So, a lot of my family’s culture was based off what was taught in the church and a lot of the social skills I gained as a child were at ward socials, primary activities, weekly mutual, or Sunday school.  

A big part of my family’s culture that I can attribute from the church is our dedication to service. From a very young age I learned the value of service and the value of ministering to others around me. Saturdays specifically were days to help my grandparents, people in the ward with projects or just go and visit with members. And for a period of time I did not enjoy it as much, but I do remember always feeling good after going to see someone or helping someone. And this was something my parents had learned that they valued enough that they passed it down to their own children. And I am so incredibly grateful for it. When it was already built into my family’s culture it became a lot easier to then pick up that mindset as my own and I could very well pass it down to any future children that I have.  

This is so important to do some self-reflection and assess your own culture. Whether it be geographical, racial, or just in our own family, assess how it has shaped you and changed your mindsets and behaviors. And after that self-reflection you could also assess which ones you would like to carry with you and others that you might not favor as much. You are not defined by your culture, so you have the choice to break patterns, and/or start new patterns. And I will leave that for you to decide:) 

Chloe 

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