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Not All That Different

Lauren S. Bailey

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Cultures, as defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary, are the beliefs, customs, arts,
etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time. They vary from one place and time to another,
and no two are identical, although some may have similarities. On page 217 of the book A Long
Way Gone, written by Ishmael Beah, lies the perfect example of a culture that is at least semicomparable to my own. On this particular page, Beah describes the culture he was exposed to
when growing up. He relates to us an instance from his childhood that he listened to his elders
tell stories, and he goes on to tell us that this happened from time to time. In this respect, I can
relate to Ishmael. Our experiences also had differences because we were not subjected to our
families stories in the same types of environments.
I can relate to Ishmaels childhood memories in this instance because I have experienced
something very similar to his experience many times in my life. When I was a child, when my
family got together, we would sit around on the front porch and speak of our past experiences.
We would laugh, cry, and reminisce together on anything and everything a person could
imagine. It is something I will hold in my heart forever, much like the way Ishmael has and will
continue to hold onto his experiences. My grandfather would tell folktales and stories with
morals that he hoped us kids would carry with us. Ishmael, because of his cultures traditions,
experienced something very similar to what I did.
Ishmaels experiences were different than my own because I was not around a campfire
when I heard the stories, which tradition in his culture occasionally entails. Ishmael lived in an
area where a campfire would probably be one of the only sources of light during the dark hours.
Growing up, we used a campfire for fun on special occasions, but for Ishmael, campfires
probably held a greater significance.

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In closing, Ishmaels experience with listening to the stories of his elders when he was a
child is at least somewhat comparable to the moments that I spent listening to those of my family
as I was growing up. Upon examination of our experiences, our pasts are indicative that,
although there are many very strikingly obvious differences between my culture and Ishmaels
culture, there are some things that we have in common. Our worlds are not all that different.