An object that is significant to me is a lamp that my mother got from back home in Guinea that was passed on to her from my grandma. My mom said the lamp is for me when I get married so that I can take with me to my house. The lamp came from Guinea, where my mother is originally from. In my house, the lamp is kept in my mother’s room so she is able to make wishes for me before I leave the house. It’s a brown wood color lamp with no designs on it; you wouldn’t even know it is a lamp until you ask. I always asked my mom “how did she get it” and she told me “when she was living with her mom.” My grandma had one of these lamps for my mom, too; she told my mom that it is good luck for when she gets married. Once my mom got married, the lamp was given to her from my grandma. Following this tradition, my mom has the special lamp for me in my house waiting for me to get married so she can pass it on to me. After I have the lamp in my house, it will be good luck to me and my children, and once I have a daughter I can pass the lamp to her. The lamp is passed down, and is only for ladies, in my country the men don’t get to inherit the lamps from the women. I know it may sound weird to some, but it’s special to me and my family. I am most excited to have the lamp it in my house and be able to pass it only to my daughter if I have one.

– Hadiyatou Diallo

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