A popular hobby

Being the second most popular hobby in the United States, plenty has been written about it. Search for family history and genealogy matters to a lot of people. This helps them learn stories that have been passed on through various generations and they wish to preserve them for their children. Most of us do not have much information beyond our grandparents. And we would love to spend time going through census records and looking around on ancestry. While genealogy is exciting and valuable getting information and knowledge about your ancestors does not define you.

Make your own path

The usual thinking is ‘how do I know who I am if I do not know where I came from’. Such sentiments are accord by individuals do not feel a connection with their roots. These could include those who have been adopted as well as those whose parents just never spoke about the past.

While it is good to know about the past of your family it is definitely not necessary for knowing oneself. Especially in our lives which have become so digital we hardly spend time to think about ourselves and reflect in words. There are so many powerful ways to connect with our loved ones for example, writing letters, meeting up with friends etc. It does not matter whether you are aware of your ancestors or ancestry. What matters is if you have good stories to tell. There is one lesson that comes up in genealogies can research and that is how well interconnected are we to each other. But what you should know is that we can still learn about the stories of people whose names are not on our own family tree.

Look for stories

What really matters is getting to know people more than just their names. You should get to know their struggles, what they went through, their victories, their families and a lot more. While it is difficult to get the stories from just a family tree, you can get clues which can get you closer to the stories you want to know. Remember to tell your stories whenever you can. Share stories at the dinner table. Try to record them and preserve them. When family stories are shared kids become more resilient and develop a good sense of identity too. You will be giving your future generations a rich lineage this way.