Here's a quick exercise that I really like ... I first encountered this activity in Dr. Reynold's class. You fill in the blanks and create a quick glimpse of your own history. The activity is appropriately entitled Where I'm From and the template source can be found here.
The WHERE I'M FROM Template
I am from the _______ (home description... adjective, adjective, sensory detail).
I am from the _______ (plant, flower, natural item), the _______ (plant, flower, natural detail)
I am from _______ (family tradition) and _______ (family trait), from _______ (name of family member) and _______ (another family name) and _______ (family name).
I am from the _______ (description of family tendency) and _______ (another one).
From _______ (something you were told as a child) and _______ (another).
I am from (representation of religion, or lack of it). Further description.
I'm from _______ (place of birth and family ancestry), _______ (two food items representing your family).
From the _______ (specific family story about a specific person and detail), the _______ (another detail, and the _______ (another detail about another family member).
I am from _______ (location of family pictures, mementos, archives and several more lines indicating their worth).
To get you started, I'll share my version.
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| My family, when I was 15, about to turn 16. |
Where I'm From
I am from electricity, from the original cheesesteak, Tastykakes, & the infamous Broad Street Brawlers.
I am from newly paved, winding, development roads, the smell of fresh paint & the gleam of new windows, & childhood giggles that invite you to play straight through honeysuckle-scented summers.
I am from -- wait, what is a ruffed grouse?! & snow storms in October?! It’s a bird, apparently, & yes, October!
I am from a burning Irish pride & blazing blue eyes to match. From Pop Pop & the rest of the troublesome Deacons (we’re just really a good time) & the Livezeys, pronounced LIV ZEE ... try to get it right next time.
I am from the gift of the gab & twisted Irish/English humor. We have mouths so smart, they could earn their own degrees.
From “do what I say & not what I do,” & “I’m the parent, not you!”
I am from a devout Catholic Grammy who raised a less-than-devout daughter. We practice being good people now, it’s more rewarding without a label.
I’m from the city of Brotherly Love & a whole country lined with green shores & blessings for every occasion, from chocolate cookies made with a father who doesn’t share the same last name, but shares a piece of my heart, & from “Mom, why the heck do we cook & sauerkraut on New Years, it STINKS!”
From the time Challie raced the cops across the lawn on a motorcycle (& Grammy didn’t believe it), the time Patrick was being impatient & got a PB&J to the face, & the time Nance threw that “3 day rager!” that her daughters read about in a yearbook, 35 years later.
I am from 14 gallon storage containers spilling over with scribbles & stories we are all just too proud to part with. From piles of pictures stored lovingly under my mom's bed, held close to her heart -- memories like that tuck you in & whisper “night night, sweet dreams,” even when you’re 450 miles from home.
: )
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