Culture that has been identified By Chikayla Warden

Food for Your Soul Soul food for me means good southern food such as yams, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, corn bread, beets, ham, and last but not least one that everyone is familiar with, which is jambalaya. Then you have imitation fast food such as, Churchs chicken, Popeyes, etc. The argument that I have is that fast food soul food, isnt necessarily real soul food because its processed and imitation. Fast food and home cooked food has a completely different taste. Home cooked food is well seasoned and its very tender. Home cooked food melts in your mouth and makes you feel very satisfied. Fast food on the other hand just taste like plain grease, and sometimes it can be undone or over cooked. Fast food is also processed therefore youre paying their high expensive prices for something that is not even real. It just has the taste of being real. Now that I have explained the differences of home cooked and fast food. Im going to compare Popeyes and Churchs chicken. Popeyes is a southern fast food restaurant; it sells refried beans, baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, biscuits, and poboys.
2

Churchs chicken sells the same thing but Churchs chicken is the greasiest of them all and it sells dirty rice instead of refried beans, as soon as you bite into the chicken you get a lot of grease which makes you not even want to eat it anymore. If I had to choose out of the two I would pick Popeyes, because Churchs chicken uses a ton of grease and in general there food just isnt good to me. Although there is a household that is better than fast food there is a household that is the exact same as fast food as far as taste goes. Therefore I am going to compare the two households together. Most soul food households food is really good and is well cooked. Other households food is really greasy and overcooked; like they tried too hard to cook it or forgot about it which means that the food is now burnt. Also if an African American family doesnt exactly know how to cook a certain food then they will get it out of a cook book and if they do something wrong then the whole thing is messed up. Therefore no one is going to want to eat their food because; theyre going to think that there getting a nice meal when really there just getting the same thing as fast food. Other African American familys that do know how to cook there food tastes

marvelous like a professional did it, because they were raised to cook that way. Now that I have mentally seen these two different sides and styles of food I have come to the conclusion that maybe these two fast food restaurants are dinner to some people because either thats whats affordable or they dont know how to cook soul food therefore they have to go to these places. I personally have realized that its not good to judge people or the fast food that they eat because you never know the story behind it.

Word count : 529

Traditions of my African American Family African American families have the tradition of something old, new, blue, and borrowed. No matter whose wedding it is that is always our number one rule. In our family we basically feel as though if we dont have those four items then it is truly bad luck. The ring that we put under our dress is my great grandmothers. The ring means the up most to our family because, our grandma died in 1981 and also the ring symbolizes something old, and it makes us feel as though she is there right along with us enjoying our special moment. When we are done with the ceremony and we go change into something more comfortable for the reception my grandma always says Ok the ceremony is over give me the ring back. My grandma says this because my great grandmother is her mom and she wears the ring on her finger everyday so that she can feel like she is with her mom every step of the day. In my family we get something new because, it symbolizes a new beginning in our lives. This is very important as well because, we feel that when you get married its a new chapter in your life and
5

every other person is in the past chapter that you have had a relationship with. When we get something new we view it as a new experience in our life and we put that special new thing in a safe place because, it represents a new chapter with that special person that you are living your new life with and we never want that new thing to be broken. If it is broken then it means that a special piece from that day is no longer in use and in one piece. In my family something blue symbolizes purity and love. Purity in my family has definitely changed over time because; back then you could not be sexual unless you were married. Now some people are sexual before marriage, and that in itself has a big change. Therefore when a person in my family gets married after they have said vows and were done with the ceremony they pray and ask God to forgive them for what they have done in the pass. This works because, now they are married which means they are done being sexual without marriage. The love in our family is also a big deal because, our family makes a great effort to marry someone for them, and not for what that man has or what he does. We believe that if you are going to marry someone it should be because you truly love

that person and because that person truly makes you happy, and you can see yourself spending the rest of your life with him. All the things listed above are extremely important to my family. We choose to follow all of these rules because, it something that is true and deep in our hearts and have a significant meaning. If I had to choose the most important one to me I was say my great grandmothers ring because, I did not get a chance to meet her. Therefore I would like to feel that closeness with her and like she is smiling at me as well.

Word count: 555

Christmas time: What Christmas true value is People including myself love Christmas because, we are very spiritual people and when Christmas does come we dont just look at the presents we look at the big picture. To my family the big picture is that Jesus was born on that day and that that day is a day of celebration and that none of us would be here if it wasnt for him. The gifts on Christmas represent the gifts of Jesus. In my family since Jesus was born on that day we get gifts to symbolize him because, he is a gif t from God to us. When we get a present we do say thank you to that person that purchased it but we also thank Jesus because, we know that each and every gift truly and originally comes from him. Gifts to us that understand what Christmas is really about are just material things that we want instead of what we truly need and designed to get. The greatest gift to me is the family that God has given to me, thats the greatest of them all. The food at Christmas symbolizes the bread that God passed around the table to his twelve disciples. Before we eat our food we thank God and ask him to let the food that we put in our body nourish us and keep us healthy and that we eat nothing but good
8

food, food that was made from love and not hatred. As we eat we all sit around a table or a counter because, this is a time to be with family and share our love around the table. The wine and cider that we drink on Christmas symbolizes the blood of Jesus. This is our way of showing him that we are fully committed to him and the rules that he has laid down for us. This is also saying that we have a piece of him inside of us and that we will always be his children and that he is the true father of all of us. To me when we drink the wine and cider it makes me think that I am also one of those disciples sitting at that table listening to what God has to tell me. Some may say what we do in our family for Christmas is kind of a lot, but this is how we celebrate. This is how we acknowledge the bread and blood of our father. The most important part of Christmas to me used to be the gifts, but as I have grown up and realized the day to day struggles of a household the most important thing to me is the celebration of Jesuss birthday. I know that if it wasnt for him I wouldnt have half of the things that I do now.

Word count:476

10

What Does Hero Mean and Look like In my family there is always the question who is your role model, who is your hero, who is the person that you look up to? Everyone in my family has had a person that they look up to, a person that they want to be when they grow up. I do have a role model, and this woman has great characteristics such as: working hard, being independent, and a fantastic mom. My mom is my role model/hero. My mom has always been the person that I look up to no matter what. I would see these women on television and they all just look like a superstar. They dont look like real women that go through real life situations, because they dont perceive themselves in that way. My mom is a very hard working person in everything that she does as far as regular home goes and school. My mom makes sure that the bills are paid and that we never go without something. If you ask me my mom works too hard at everything she always says I will always make sure you have what you need and want no matter what. Sometimes I could worry about household things because I know that she is so stressed but she

11

always tells me dont worry, let me handle it. I applaud my mom for the effort that she puts in. One of the best things that my mom has taught me is to be independent. My mom teaches me to be dependent on myself because, I am never going to get anywhere by depending on others. My mom is the perfect example of an independent woman. My mom doesnt lean or ask anyone for anything she always makes a way for things to happen in her own way. My mom has taught me that being independent is one of the best qualities of a woman. She always tells me a man does not want a dependent woman. Sometimes she may not think that I am listening but I am and I believe that she would be satisfied to hear me say that my best friend that is a guy tell me that Im very independent all the time. I think that she would feel accomplished. My mom is an amazing mom to me she is always there for me and she is always the person that I go to for a conversation. My mom is one of the best moms out there and I believe that sometimes I take advantage of her instead of tell her how much she is appreciated. I see other girls saying how their mom is bad and there mom doesnt
12

care, and I am so happy to say that thats not my mom. Im happy to say that my mom is a five star mom and that she is a phenomenal woman and that I am so proud to be her daughter because she teaches me the best way to be a woman, a stable woman. The things that I listed above are why my mom is my hero and I couldnt ever think of any one different or even better. My mom teaches me how to be a mom in the future and how to treat my kids. I think the best part of this is that she teaches me how to live on my own and be by myself. If I had to choose the best thing about my mom is that she cares greatly for me and that she loves me, I think that is all a girl can really ask for.

Word count :608

13