Most of my life I’ve struggled with knowing who I am and I
where I come from. It is an interesting journey because the more I find out
where I come from it is shaping where I desire to go in life, it’s showing me
the things that I want to change, patterns I don’t want to continue on in, as
well as things that I want to hold on to because I can be proud or rather glad
that I come from such a lineage. It is giving me what I need to know my hiSTORY
so I can write it and one day tell it to my children and to the world.
hiSTORIE’S are so important to me because I grew up not
knowing my biological father. I’ve always had a drive to succeed and accomplish
great things in life despite the insurmountable and oftentimes impossible
challenges I often faced. Upon meeting my biological father I took a trip with
his family to Lake Charles, Louisiana where they are from for my great
grandmothers 90th Birthday Celebration. When I met her I could see
deep-seated pain yet immense joy. I could see credible wisdom stemmed from a
long life lived. I saw such a rich hiSTORY because she had lived through such
life-changing times, and seeing all of this intrigued me…It drew me in and I
wanted to know more. I wanted to know her hiSTORY so that I could know her.
I visited my great
grandmother at her home and she offered me a glass of lemonade that tasted like
the cool of winter on a hot summers day. It was so good that I asked her how
she made it because surely I’ve never tasted lemonade quite like hers. She took
me into the kitchen and asked me if I knew how to read and shocked it took me 5
minutes to finally say ‘Yes ma’am I do.” What she said in response to my answer
gave me an entirely new outlook on where I’m going in life, why I do the things
I do, and how they will not just affect me but my one day grandchildren. My great
grandmother told me that she asked me if I could read because she couldn’t. She
only received a first grade education and she had to work and help her parents
take care of their family. So at ninety years old my grandmother didn’t know
how to read and had never read in all her years of living. This was completely
devastating to me because I love to read. Hearing my great grandmother share
that part of her hiSTORY changed me from merely just getting by in school but
doing all I can to learn and grow because my grandmother wasn’t afforded the
same opportunities as I’ve been given. Seeing the look in her eyes proud that
her great granddaughter could do something that she would die without ever
learning did something to me. I was beginning to see where I came from so that
I can better see where I’m headed and why I’m headed there.
There’s an old saying that I believe to be true “You can’t
know where you’re going until you know where you’re from.” It’s quite sad that
most people can live almost their entire lives not knowing the hiSTORY of their
families and where they come from. I believe there is such a great need to know
our hiSTORIES and preserve them so that they can be passed on from generation
to generation.
Many people in the world and specifically in this generation
are struggling to figure out who they are. Identity is one of the biggest issues
we face with every generation of people…We all struggle or have struggled
through life trying to find out WHO we are, where we fit, where we come from,
what we have potential to do, where we have the potential to go in life. I
strongly believe that when you know where you come from it gives a whole new
meaning to who you are, where you can go in life, and why. Knowing your hiSTORY
and where you come from can help you set goals that will structure your life,
give you a push and drive to succeed, and give you a sense of confidence as you
travel through this amazing journey called life.
I would also argue that it’s not only knowing our hiSTORY
but that of others. Knowing others hiSTORIES gives us an appreciation and
respect for them that we may not normally possess. Knowing others hiSTORIES
gives us an appreciation for those around us as well as an appreciation for our
own life’s journey.
Everyone has a hiSTORY
that should be told and through this blog I hope to share with the world the
importance of genealogy, how to trace genealogy, the impact that knowing your genealogy
can have on your life, and how to effectively tell your hiSTORY so that it is
preserved. I will be interviewing five people about their lives. I will be
asking them questions about where they come from, where they grew up, life
growing up, memories and monumental events during their lifetime, what religion
they practice and how it has shaped their lives and hiSTORY and much much more.
This will be exciting to allow others to tell their stories and have something
to pass down from generation to generation.
We ALL have a hiSTORY to tell….
Here is a link to why genealogy is important.
Brooklyn Arielle
… a hiSTORY
waiting to be told.
Hi Brooke,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your history. Life is complex. There is no doubt about it. People make choices that many times they don't realize how they affect and effect others. I hope that meeting your father and getting to know his family has been a positive aspect in your life. My own mother did not know her father and when she did meet him he did not want anything to do with her and denied knowing her. It was very painful for her but fortunately her immediate family is very large and love abounded in other areas for her. My own father had the same experience with not being able to finish school. He had to drop out in the 10th grade to help his family survive. When he was 22 he got his GED and went to college working in a laundry service at a hospital to pay his way through college. I applaud your efforts in trying to understand yourself and the inward reflection that journey will take. Good luck and I look forward to reading the interviews you conduct.
Stephanie Frausto
Thank You soooooooo very much Stephanie for reading and sharing!!... It is quite paintful at times because of the situation but it's an experience that I am learning to live with. Likewise I am excited to conduct the interviews and share them.
ReplyDelete:))
Brooke Gordon
Brooke,
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading your blog post, and I'm glad that you chose to meet your biological father, for there are others who would reject meeting their father, daughters. That tells me that you're a very bondable and caring person. And of course life is not an easy path to take, but we must be ready to receive any obstacle that we might encounter which will make us even stronger to continue this journey. And I will look forward reading your interviews; I also believe that is very important to be able to know our history of our families and the eras in which they lived in. I remember that when my maternal grandfather lived he used to tell us a lot of interesting stories of when he was a kid, and early adulthood. However, what I loved the most about my grandfather stories is that if the story was about a remarkable event, he would take out a newspaper with the news regarding that story. He had a lot of newspaper with important news that occurred during that time frame.
Thank You so much Ofelia....I appreciate you for reading!! How amazing is it to be able to catch a glimpse of life in someone view through their experiences. I used to love to sit and listen to my my great grandmother sit and tell stories...Through my asking questions she actually traced our family history back to a specific place in Africa. But that story will come later!! :)
ReplyDelete