Tracking Personal History- Does the presence or lack of family history influence your perspective?

Just like our conversation in the folio cafe I feel like this topic can go many places. I guess my first instinct is to talk about geneology. To me my parents were not very big in geneology or even keeping up with family traditions. I often made the comment "our tradition was to not have a tradition" so growing up I did not hear a lot about my family history. But when I was around middle school I started to do my own family history research and decided I would document the things I knew and I would work from that. I didnt get very far but it was a start. I later on went on an adventure to Mexico to gather more information but that story is in another part of my E-Portfolio. But I just want to focus on the things I did know. I knew I was a first generation american and that all of my previous family was born in Mexico. I knew I was named after my grandfather. I knew that my paternal grandmother really liked the violin and sign language. I knew that because my dad always talked about how much I was like my grandmother even though I never got to meet her. I think knowing that made me feel connected to something and that I was passing along a legacy. I knew the language I spoke was that of the people who came before me and I would be the first generation to fluently speak English. It gave me a sense of pride but also a lot of responsibility. I had been given all of these opportunities but was I really taking advantage of it? Knowing that family history really made me think about what my relatives in Mexico thought of me. I knew growing up that I was still different and I looked different from other children. I had tan skin and they had white skin. But having that knowledge that I was in a country my parents deemed safe and a place that had opportunity gave me stregnth to endure being different. I didnt start out this prompt thinking I would go into so much of how my family history is tied to my personal identity but it feels therapeutic to identify this. It makes me feel like I over thought things as a child and that it really is a simple concept. I am because of my family and I am my family. I really like this artwork because it shows the many generations and how they help the living generation. I feel the support of my ancestors and passed relatives.