In my family, our tradition is to make fudge. It’s not some carefully crafted recipe from generations past; it comes off the back of a container of fluff that you could get at any supermarket, but somehow, it’s still ours. My mom told me once that I could only stir it over the stove clockwise, that if I stirred it the other way, it wouldn’t taste as good. I don’t believe this. I don’t think she did either, but that’s what her mom told her. My family is American. Well, we’re Polish and Irish and French Canadian and Russian and German and Scottish and maybe even a little Native American. But really, we’re American. I don’t know anything about my cultures. I mean, we eat pierogies on holidays and we make potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day, but that’s the extent of our celebration. But our fudge, that’s something we chose. That’s something we make.
My great uncle was able to claim dual citizenship in Ireland. My aunt helped him get it; she’s the genealogy whiz in our family, and she was able to trace back our lineage to prove that he was Irish enough. He’s an artist. He traveled there and studied the stone formations and when he came back, he presented to us all of the sketches and paintings and drawings from his trip. I wondered what I could discover about myself if I, too studied those stones.
In this essay, I want to explore my lack of culture through this American lens, but I also want to maybe tie in some of the information my aunt has found out about our family and incorporate it into my experiences with food.
Advanced Composition 
I’m interested in hearing more about your “lack of culture” that you mention in the last paragraph. It’s an interesting concept; the idea of getting the fudge recipe off the back of a jar of fluff is a terrific metaphor. As you suggest, you’re making your own identity with this, but there is certainly a poignancy in not having this deep connection to a richer tradition. Do you think you’ll bring in American consumerism as part of this lack? Great start and I look forward to reading how you end the essay…will there be an acceptance or a weaving together?
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