A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

This is the scenario I was presented this week. While this is certainly a dire circumstance, I am happy to be alive and able to travel to a different country where I can survive.

The three items I would bring along with me would be; a photo album, an owl figurine, and my pets. I would bring a photo album with me because it holds many memories of family and friends, good times, and happiness. It would allow me to show those in my new country where I came from and what I represent. Family is the most important thing to me, and I think that is a universal feeling that most people can understand. I would also choose to bring an owl figurine because it represents my Grandmother. Her and I were very close, and she passed away when I was 13 years old. She collected owls and had them everywhere! I was fortunate enough to be able to keep most of them when she passed and they help me to remember her and how much she meant to me. This is kind of like bringing the photo album, just another way to show who is most special to me. The last thing I would bring is my pets, I could never imagine leaving them or living without them. They are pretty much an extension of my family, and are just as important.

If I was told, upon arrival, that I could only keep one of these items I would feel terribly sad and torn. All three of these things mean so much to me. In the end, I would choose to give up the photo album and owl, and keep my pets. I would choose this path because the photo album and owl are inanimate objects that I can keep alive in my memories, my pets are living things that need me just as much as I need them.

This was a very hard exercise! There are so many things that mean so much to me and represent who I am. I could not imagine the feelings people have after loosing everything in a terrible disaster.