Lauren Lee
Professor Carolyn Colsant
First Year Integrative Seminar 2: Fashion
28 February 2018
A Piece of History
February 8, 2017 was the day of my transition from an adolescent to an adult. My mother handed me a box with a ribbon on the top, and took out a handkerchief. She wrapped around a soft silky piece of fabric from Zara, and said, “this handkerchief will help you identify who you are, and help your path in the future.” Rather than paying attention to her words, I was distracted by the looks of the handkerchief. The different sizes of stripes had opaque and vivid colors of red, orange, green, blue, and black, and created an abstract design, which made my bare skin stand out. The soft thin fabric that embraced on my bare wrist was comforting and warm.
Without knowing the fundamental meaning of the gift, a year passed by. On my 19th birthday, I wrapped around the handkerchief that my mother gave me on my last birthday, and I questioned to myself about what she had said before. I questioned and wondered how a handkerchief can identify who I am. What does her word of “identification” refer to? I was confused and the meaning was unclear. I knew I had the meaning behind the handkerchief.
On July 25, 1950, the Korean War began. The civilians, who were my grandmother at the age of 8 and her whole family, living in the northern part of Korea needed to evacuate to the south, which is called Busan, South Korea today. Millions of people rushed down to the southern part of Korea in order to save their own lives. During the evacuation, the numerous amount of people were lost, injured, or dead on the streets. My great-grandmother gave her children the handkerchief that she created, and wrapped around their wrist in order to identify her children in a chaotic situation. As my grandmother grew up, she created a new handkerchief and wrapped the fabric on my mother’s wrist. Also, My mother bought me a new handkerchief, and did the same thing, which became a family tradition today.
I realized the handkerchief that I had receive was not just a gift, but contained extremely meaningful memories, but also my great-grandmother’s, grandmother’s, and my mother’s history. The handkerchief seemed different after I heard the story. The handkerchief, that I put down inside the corner of my bag and never took it out within a year, was way more crucial than I had thought. Giving less attention and showing no appreciation to the handkerchief was equivalent to showing no interest and respect to my ancestor’s history. The handkerchief became more valuable in my life.
After I heard the remarkable story behind the handkerchief, I thought of what my mother had said previously. Even though I did not fully comprehend the full meaning toward her words, I understood what my mother was referring to. Because of the handkerchief, it can be an inspiration of my artwork or something else, such as writing this essay.
Even though the handkerchief costs $14.95, the handkerchief is extremely valuable in our family. It is a tradition that no one can create or purchase. The handkerchief symbolizes our family history, but it also identifies who we are as a person physically and mentally.
