This cultural self-portrait shows the food, places, tokens, and people that have shaped my cultural identity. Being raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints substantially impacted how I define my culture. Although I no longer practice Mormonism, it has been the religion of my family for more than eighty years. My grandmother, who married before finishing high school, baked and sold loaves of bread so my father could attend Brigham Young University. When I was a child, we would bake bread from scratch together, starting by grinding the grains into flour; bread is the most important food in our culture. Arizona is the most important place in my cultural portrait. Mesa, Arizona, where I lived in my early childhood, is the city with the third-largest Mormon population, following Salt Lake City and Boise. Some tokens of my culture are the Angel Moroni, found atop every Mormon temple, and a ‘choose the right’ ring, which I wore as a child. Lastly are photos of influential people in my life: my paternal and maternal grandmothers (both LDS), my stepdad, and my mom.
