Cultural Artifact Analysis

Ashley Halverson

Bonnie Moore

English 2010

24 April 2014

Cultural Artifact Analysis

     As a military brat, my family has always been my anchor through the many moves and changes I have been through. When you come to a new place where everything and everyone is unfamiliar, it is extremely important to hold onto the people that know and love you. No matter where I was, I had my family as friends to help me along.

      It was very exciting to look back at my family’s history as I collected cultural artifacts from my parents, siblings, and self. It is easy to take the experiences and adventures we have had for granted, but this project forced me to look at them a little closer and appreciate the opportunities I have had. In our travels, we have seen so much and met so many people. Each new thing has helped to define our family and the futures that lie ahead for us.

      Many of the artifacts alluded to our family’s strong sense of pride and patriotism. As my father has fought in wars and done his duty to this country, we have each come to appreciate the rights and privileges that we have as citizens of the United States of America. We love to celebrate these rights, especially on the days set aside for that purpose. The Fourth of July is one of the biggest parties held in the Halverson household. In my holiday tradition/custom cultural artifact, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Pancakes,” I detailed how we celebrate this holiday with breakfast food and togetherness. We gather with those we love and respect and enjoy the day that marks the independence of our country. In this way, we demonstrate who we are as a family and share it with others.

     Likewise, the feelings and attitudes that my family members hold towards one another are obvious in many of the cultural artifacts. Just like so many other families, we have our problems, our spats, and our differences. We do not always get along with one another. But when we come together with positive attitudes and the desire to love each other, we have so much fun. In the informal photo from my artifact “Christmas Eve with the Jenkins,” we sit close together as a family, joking, laughing, and enjoying the time we have with our father during his two-week R&R from his deployment in Afghanistan. “BB Between the Eyes,” a family legend, is often told at such events as a popular and funny story, especially since my siblings and I never had the opportunity to meet my dad’s father. “The Troll in the Sock Drawer” demonstrated the history of pranking and play that my family holds so dear. Though we are serious when it comes to matters of our country, we have so much fun when we are able to do so.

     I wouldn't trade my family for any other group of people in the world. They are silly, sappy, loving and hard-working. We fight and we forgive, we love and we live. I have had the opportunity to look into our history and come to love them even more. I know that I am more resilient and strong as a result of my connection with them. I am capable of anything with them by my side, no matter where we are in the world.