Rezi Ubogu

 Common App Final Submission

“Where do you want to go for Thanksgiving?” my mother asked every year.  

I don’t know,” I would reply.

The truth is that I did know. But I also knew my mother wouldn’t be pleased with my answer: she would not agree to spend the holidays in a lodge in the Middle of Nowhere™. Despite my desire to spend Thanksgiving quietly in a blissful winter wonderland, I envisioned being scolded for “not wanting to spend time with family.” Rather than think about disappointing my mother, I agreed with her usual choice and endured our 10-hour road trip to Ann Arbor. Thinking about generations of passed-down family recipes that took form in my Great Aunt Rosemary’s cooking. As I've grown older, I've realized that these trips are teaching me more about my unique heritage, and I've become more enthusiastic about them.

Honestly, I find it very difficult to decide who to visit for the holidays. My family is a melting pot of different backgrounds and cultures. Northerners hailing from Michigan; Ugandan grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, and cousins, all from my Mom’s side; Southerners hailing from Arkansas and Florida; Nigerians living in Nigeria and abroad, all from my immigrant Dad’s side; and a variety of others that fall somewhere in between (like me!). 

Although I am not a picky eater, what I eat during the holidays depends on who I spend them with. I’ve spent Christmas hunched over both moin moin and suya, Nigerian food delicacies, jerk chicken, a spicy, sweet, and savory Jamaican meat dish, or sinking my teeth into Southern-style American barbeque pork ribs.

Despite our various backgrounds, giving thanks has always brought my unique family together and given me a true feeling of belonging. During Thanksgiving at my Aunt Kawana’s house, we would form a large circle to say what we were grateful for. As simple as it seems, these gatherings helped me develop the confidence to speak in public. As I grew older,  I overcame the stage fright that suffocated me in middle school and learned to communicate confidently with others in many different situations. These important family gatherings, surrounded by encouraging and loving people, taught me to express my feelings and thoughts aloud and clearly, creating a gentle spark that has ignited one of my passions: public speaking.  

Spending the holidays with my family, whether that meant reading tirelessly long bedtime stories to my cousins or “compromising” on what to watch, also taught me how to better relate with others. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to become a leader, maybe due to having “youngest child syndrome” or my wish for a younger sibling. I was driven to become a role model, especially for my younger cousin, Ella, who inspired me to continue my “big sister” role for others. As I transition from high school to college, my goal is to lead by example in all I do because I know how important it is to show the world who I am: a unique young woman who has been influenced by my multicultural African-American family background and its very supportive members, especially my parents and grandparents. 

Above all, my multicultural family background has taught me an integral life lesson. Despite belonging to a melting pot of different cultures and traditions, I continue to learn how important it is to understand how a person's background guides how they think about the world and why it is important to cherish my heritage to help others better understand me. Celebrating Kwanzaa yearly (as I reminisce happily on Umoja, the Swahili word for unity) reminds me of how important it is to embrace my heritage and celebrate the uniqueness of the Ubogu-Ssengoba-Karatz-Bryant-Smith family. Regardless of who I spend the holidays with, what I surely know is that always come back home with a few extra pounds!