When I went to school the kids were either white or Hispanic. It wasn’t until years later when I went to high-school that I was introduced to other races as well. However, in my journey through life I still struggled with this dilemma, where do I belong? Even being half “white” I never found a place in that society like at parties, churches, or schools.
I finally found I felt more at home among the Hispanic people I grew up with as the daughter of missionaries who worked with the Braceros in McKinney, Texas. Even though I found my comfort zone, I have seen my children struggle with the exact same issues.
I suppose the answer lies in maturing and realizing the importance of individuality. God made each of us different. It’s just a matter of accepting those facets of our backgrounds and personalities that make us unique not only in the eyes of the Lord but in the eyes of those who truly love us.
In a way, I guess I should feel very special even though I am “neither fish, flesh, nor fowl” just me. As I have said to my children and grandchildren, “You are a pretty special kiddo!”
Now that I am learning about genealogy and the history of my family, I am so glad that there is information out there to help me understand more about myself. It would be terrible if things were removed from my education that helped me understand the history of our country and how we evolved. Yes, our forefathers did make mistakes, as we all do. But learning from those mistakes is imperative and therefore we can go forward and do a better job the next time.
It would have been terrible if our forefathers had said, the reason we came to the United States is too bloody a story, we can’t tell that to our children! Then we never would have learned how far they came and what they had to go through to become the wonderful people they became in the long run.
We don’t need to ban our history. We need to share it no matter what the venue is. Classroom or newsroom. Share the truth!
Genealogy for Children 