Personal Cultural Artifact

https://www.shutterstock.com/search/man+sitting+on+bench?search_source=base_keyword

Something I've noticed ever since I moved up here to Provo is that random strangers will just start talking to you when you are walking down the street or sitting waiting for something and that is just normal.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-love-doesnt-mean

Saying I love you.  Loving and caring for someone is very important to me. For this reason it is not uncommon for me to say I love you to someone other than a family member. I will say to close friends as well. 

http://weknowyourdreams.com/food.html


A party is not a party unless there is food there. In the Mormon culture at any gathering everyone brings a dish to share. It's this idea of community and working together.

http://cliparting.com/free-cell-phone-clipart-19448/

Now a days you can't go anywhere without seeing someone on their phone. It is the primary means of communication. If you don't have a cell phone people look at you like, how do you even talk to people. 

America's favorite pass time.  Sports is one of the biggest ways that people can connect.

Education has always been a very important part of my life and after being accepted to BYU I have valued getting a higher education even more. Higher education means a more successful future.

    

Traditions.  In my family we have many traditions one of which is opening a present on Christmas Eve (which is always PJs). This is something that brings families together and creates memories to look back on.

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=my+redeemer+lives

One symbol of my culture is my testimony of what I believe. Being able to share my testimony with others is so important to my culture, it lets others know where I stand and what I find to be true. 

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/category/artwork-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

I believe there is a God. And I believe in my Savior Jesus Christ.  They are much of what I center my life around. Believing in a higher being let's me know that there is so much more to this life than what we can see. I provides hope.

Family is so important to me.  I do not know where I would be without them. They are a foundation and an example of what I am striving for. In my culture family is the most important things and everyday we are learning in growing in order to make our current and future family stronger.

Music. One of my outlets, a way for me express myself. 

Friends.  Much like my family I do not know what I would do without them. They are a support. In my culture I have learned that you become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. People tend to surround themselves with people they things in common with and who are going to help them become better people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_the_right

This is a symbol in my culture to remind us to always choose the right. In a world where so many things are changing and we need to pick sides it is important to stop and think, what is going to be the best decision and what is going to lead the greatest happiness.

A big part of what I believe in is marriage and most importantly in the temple for time and all eternity. Being married in the temple is dream I have had ever since I was little. In my culture we believe in more than, "till death do you part". We believe in forever, and that can only be found in the temple.

There is nothing better than the great outdoors and adventure and staying healthy. There is so much more out there then what is within the four walls of your home.

http://quotesgram.com/believe-in-yourself-quotes/

It has always been hard for me to believe that what I did was good enough or who I am is fine, and so this has become something I tell myself all the time when I am putting myself down and loosing faith.

I always want to remember the good times and taking picture is how I do that. There isn't an event that I go to where I won't take a picture. They capture memories.

This isn't necessarily a picture of work, but I have learned from my dad the importance of work and being successful. Without those attributes I believe you won't get very far, which in this culture today is looked down upon. 

Celebrating Holidays/ Birthdays. Some of the things we may do to celebrate different holiday may seem strange to others but what is important is the unity that comes when we do. Going out to buy a Christmas tree may seem pointless to what Christmas truly is, but what is created by going out with the family to pick one and decorating it is much more important. And by celebrating holidays we are able to take time to reflect on the meaning behind them, why we are coming together to celebrate.

http://weheartit.com/entry/group/77173599

The young women's medallion, a symbol of your worthiness and the things that you have accomplished.

After looking at all of my artifacts I realized that a lot of them are based on my religion, but I mean that is understandable considering it is such a big part of my life and what has shaped me.  But this could serve as a handicap in a school setting because not everybody is going to believe the same things I do and that is sometimes hard for me to understand or even approach.  That is a big reason why I came to BYU, because I knew I would be surrounded by a large number of people who had the same beliefs and I wouldn't have to work as hard to try and understand and learn about other cultures. Which is a big problem considering as a teacher I will need to learn to be understanding of other cultures. Although I can not talk about God and that kind of stuff in my classroom, the aspects of hard work and importance for success is something that I can implement in my classroom. My students are going to be expected to give forth their best effort and they will be able to see that hard work will help them learn and become more successful, and that may not mean just getting good grades. Hard work is and attribute that is going to help you go further out in the real world. Being so family oriented may serve as a hindrance in my classroom, because maybe not every one of my students is going to view family in that way and therefore may not have that support that I believe comes from families. But I do also believe that you are never alone, and in my classroom can build that support through the other students in the classroom and I can be a support. Just showing them that I believe in them and will do what I can to help them understand the concepts.