History is an important subject in school. After all, there's the old saying "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." And so we sit in class and learn about our country's history and (hopefully) world history. But what about family history? Isn't that important too?
Family history can teach us a lot about who we really are. Yes, knowing the history of a country or the world is important, but personal history can impact us differently. After all, family history is connected to the history we learn about in class and can even help make it come to life.
Family history can inspire people to explore parts of history that aren't taught as in-depth as other parts. This could expose parts of history that no one really knows about. Stories that may not have seemed important can suddenly come to life. And it's not just the literal history that can come to light.
Language and traditions from other countries are equally important. People tend to save their religions but not their language or traditions, which causes future generations to lose a connection to their background. And while religion can easily be integrated into a family's traditions, the culture from a homeland aren't as easily replicated. Access to certain items isn't as easy once a family has left their homeland unless they're lucky enough to find a community of people that share their background. But even then, it's not a guarantee that items will be found.
So take the time to listen and learn. Ask questions. Spend time in the kitchen learning how to make those family recipes. Learn how to make all kinds of crafts. Because food isn't just about eating things from a family background. It's about understanding how that food plays a part in the life of the family. It can be as simple as the preparation of the food to the reasons why it's a part of the family's diet.
But it can't be just up to the younger generations to make the effort to preserve their family history.
The older generation has to be willing to share. Staying quiet about darker moments in family history does erase them, but how can the family hope to move forward if future generations don't know what's happened. Older generations are passing on and so many stories are being lost. It's understandable that they won't want to share darker moments, but good memories can't be lost too.
The older generations have to be encouraging too. While there's the mindset of making sure newer generations fit into the country they're born into, the loss of connection to the family's original country can cause later problems. Generations will try to fix that hole in their family experiences, but it's a lot easier to do when it's a guided trip with family than one taken alone.
