Illustration Essay

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Lauren Mutter ENG 101 CW 2/15/13 Illustration Essay Final Draft The Joy of Family Traditions What are common themes in almost all families around the world? The answers that come to my mind are unity, love, and significantly, traditions. The search for meaning through ritual is ancient, though perhaps more important now than ever before. Family traditions do so much more than commemorate a milestone; they can serve as guideposts along the way, helping us to shape our daily lives and foster values. In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s short story “Casa: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood,” she depicts for us important ideas about culture and its significance for identity. Through the narrator of her essay, she describes a tradition that is very important to the women of Puerto Rican culture: bonding by spending time together storytelling. I find this easy to relate to. I am positive that I wouldn’t be the woman I am today if it weren’t for the numerous family traditions we partake of in my own family. The most important times with my family are the holidays and special occasions spent together as a group. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and great-grandparents all gather together at one of our homes in celebration of Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the new year, birthdays, and graduations. We always have an abundance of dishes steaming with decadent food, such as my grandmom’s homemade macaroni and cheese. My mom usually fixes her sweet party punch: a mixture of Hawaiian punch, sprite, and sherbet. We gather around, eating, opening gifts, talking and laughing. It may seem so simple, but I am always anxious for each upcoming holiday or celebration, because I cannot wait to spend the quality time with those I love. Saturdays were my favorite day of the week when I was growing up. Somehow, they had become my mom, sister, grandmom and my special day
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