Celebrating Cultural Heritage

Daily writing prompt

What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

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I’ve always been interested in familial history.  As a kid, I would constantly ask my grandma and grandpa all of these questions about where they came from.  I wanted to know every detail—what my great grandparents were like, what made them decide to leave their country of origin and come to the United States, what their stories were—all of it.  I didn’t really gather too many answers that I can recall, but my dad’s side of the family is really good about keeping a family tree intact. 

My paternal grandpa is full-blooded Italian, and I grew up living, breathing that culture.  I was raised on spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and chicken cacciatore.  My great-grandparents come from Calabria, Italy.  A rich farmland, but rather poor area economically.  They left for a better life and more opportunity, as most immigrants did.  Italy resonates with me in the sense that it gives me the feeling of home and family.  I couldn’t be prouder (or more obsessed) with my Italian heritage.   

I have yet to visit Calabria to see where my great-grandparents grew up, but it’s definitely on my bucket list.  I actually still have a lot of extended family that live in Calabria that I’d love to visit.  But if that’s the case, I’d better start learning the language.  But in all honesty, Italy holds a very special place in my heart.  I love learning about the history, the art, the culture, the FOOD.  It brings me so much joy to even think about Italy.  I love it that much.

But there’s much more to me than Italian heritage.  I’m also half Jewish.  My great-grandparents on my mom’s side came from Odessa, Ukraine.  This side of my family, I’ve been rather out of touch with.  I never grew up going to family dinners or obtained the closeness that I had tied to my dad’s side.  To be honest, I never even knew that being Ashkenazi Jewish was a “heritage,” I just assumed it was purely a religion.  It’s in fact an ethnic-religious group. 

More recently, I’ve been trying to learn more and embrace this side of my heritage.  A few years ago, I took a birthright trip to Israel.  I had a truly enlightening experience and learned a lot about the history and the culture. I’ve also grown closer to my aunt, and she has offered me a lot of insights about our family and has answered a lot of my questions.  I feel so much more connected and prouder now.    

I found all of this out through 23 and me, as well as extensive research on ancestry.com.  I really am a mutt if you look at it.  My paternal grandma is a mix of things—British, Scotch-Irish, and German.  I also have north African heritage as well.  

I’m just so proud and honored of my familial history, and I’ll never stop learning as much as I can about it.  Besides, it’s all a part of what makes me, me.