The History of Yourself

Every family is unique. I have friends that are Irish, African American, French, Russian, etc. Which I find interesting because every small characteristic that you have grown into is because of your family past. When it comes to family history I don’t know much. There’s definitely more research I would like to put into, but as far as I know I have two distinct heritage throughout my family. My father comes from a French background. Where my mother comes from an American, but slight, Native American background. Spending time with my family so much, I have come to understand how I am the person I am because of my family history.

My father was raised by my two grandparents, also known as ‘Mère and Pépère. The two were both raised in Europe, but soon came to America to begin a new life. My Pépère grew up with nine other sisters and two brothers. While my ‘Mère grew up with one bother. They were very Catholic, and still are. My father grew up in home that was very structured, and very big on morals. When around my dad’s side of the family you can definitely tell we are French, based on the loudness of speaking, and our sense of humour. I’ve always found it so interesting when hearing my grandparents speaking in a different language. I would love to learn French some day. Along with the French culture, my ‘Mère is a fantastic cook. She’s famous for her Kretuant dip that she makes every Christmas.

On my mother’s side of the family; my grandmother, also known as Grammie is a descendant from a native tribe leader. She talks about my great grandfather, and how hard he worked to make their life as normal as possible. There was nothing wrong with being a Native American, and he loved their tribe. Although he knew she needed to live a different life in order to gain new experiences and opportunities. So my grandmother fulfilled her life by marrying the man of her dreams and giving birth to my mother and aunt. As a person I feel that is where I get my bravery, reckless, and soulful characteristics. In addition during the summer I always get so dark, with the help of having French skin, and some native blood I see why I easily darken quickly. It’s always so fun to sit by the campfire with my grandmother because with some convincing, she will always do her Indian call. The first time the grandchildren heard the call we were slightly frightened, but we all soon became comfortable with it and tried ourselves to do the call. We would form a line and while running we would scream at the top of our lungs. Keep in mind this would be at 10 or 11 o’clock at night. We only had a few noise complaints, but it was so fun.

Thinking about it now I wonder if there is still members of her tribe that are alive or in the area. In addition, I only had a chance to meet a few of the aunts and uncles from my Pépère and ‘Mère’s family. This leaves me all to wonder if I am like any my great aunts. I wonder if there was a member of my Grandmother’s tribe that I would have gotten alone with. Vargas’ story is nothing like my family’s history or past. Both sides, my father and my mother’s families are both very confident in the decisions they have made, and the life they have lived. Both are completely supportive and accepting of my father and mother’s life as well. Growing up this has affected me in a positive way. I find myself to be very stubborn and protective over the things that I believe in and for the people I care about. At times I can be reckless and outgoing, but I know how to keep myself reserved at appropriate times. My parents have raised me into a women who holds herself accountable to high expectations, but understand that I am not perfect for the fact that I easily forget things and make mistakes. Although, for my mistake I take responsibility and do the best I can in order to fix the problem. There are many experiences that I have not encountered with that being said I still have a lot to learn about myself. Writing this blog it has encouraged me to take the time to ask more questions about my family, and where we came from. I hope to learn more about my family’s history, and I encourage others to do the same. Knowing who you are, and why can make you more confident, as well as more connected to your family.

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