People are constantly attached with the things that went on
in their pasts, specifically things that went on in childhood and adolescence. From
symbols of comfort, like stuffed animals or blankets, to locations chalked full
of memories, our hearts are filled with aspects of our personal histories.
These histories are what shape our identities and through these symbolic memories
and experiences we can articulate who we are and what is important to keep
close to the heart as time moves forward in our lives.
A lot of these identity shapers come from daily routines that
we experience throughout childhood, one specifically being meal time and foods
we grow up eating. In two personal reflections by Geoff Nicholson and Roy Ahn
the authors discuss how the memories of food from their past have influenced
them going forward. On a more intimate level, they remember their parents, who
have passed away, and how central the food that they ate was to their
relationship as well as perceptions of them.
Nicholson compares the “whiteness” of all the food his
mother would prepare and eat to how she viewed life through her catholic faith.
White is the color of purity and Nicholson proposes that it is possible that
his mother’s favorite food was white in order to feel comforted. Although he
doesn’t see this as a completely justifiable conclusion, it is easy to see how
he uses the foods that his mother would eat as a lens to understand her as an
individual.
Nicholson also evaluates his mother’s enjoyment of milk,
which he decides must be because of how she drank it throughout her schooling
as well as during WWII. Because of the stress of the war and the way that it affected
every individual in one way or another, he sees the comfort in that milk could
bring her in war time. Ultimately, Nicholson uses his memories of the food that
his mom loved as a way to not only understand her, but even live out his strong
connection with her by eating the foods that she loves, even if he himself does
not particularly like them.
Ahn discusses a similar connection with his parents based on
the foods that he grew up eating, but goes more in depth than just the relationship
he had with his parents into how him their relationship shaped a cultural identity
that he wants to pass down to his family.
Having both of his parents pass away in a car accident at
age 24, Ahn feels a heightened importance of his Korean nationality and how his
parents instilled that in him through biological and nurturing means. When Ahn
finds himself ordering the wrong Korean dish because of messing up on his
parent’s native tongue, he realizes the importance of him making sure that his
roots maintain the richness that they deserve. Because of the Korean dishes his
mother made consistently throughout his childhood and how he ordered the wrong
dish, he sees a connection with his parents that he can act through by ensuring
he stays true to his Korean identity and
how by respecting that he can respect his parents memory.
This somewhat reminds me to my own connection to my parents
through food. My mother is a native Mexican and because of the pride she takes
in her delicious Mexican foods I will never be comfortable eating at Taco Bell
because of the shame it brings to real Mexican food. Every time I eat Mexican food
I am always comparing the tastes and flavors to my mom’s and have never thought
that anyone else’s food even compared. I would need to further reflect however to
be able to articulate the level of depth that is describe by Nicholson and Ahn,
I am excited to explore the connection between food and relationships.
