ROOTS

Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 10:56pm

Who am i? Where do i come from? Coming from a certain family where used to count much more than money, i was raised keeping in mind the stories of my forefathers, always being remembered that wherever life takes me , i am who i am , the granddaughter of x and a descent of the last Kings of Senegal. A mixed heritage that i have been carrying proudly wherever the wind pushed me.. I was raised with old fashioned values that were supposedly in application in Senegal but my Mum didnt realize that whatever values were on in the early 70's, they were no more really in in the 90's with the shifts in our society where greed had replaced customs and values..But am soo grateful to have been taught old fashioned values they are worth billions to me and they have helped me evolve in various countries and cultures with a tolerant eye. Digesting and adapt those that attracted me and learning from the great school of life day after day.. Alex Haley researching his roots opened the door to a whole world to African Americans: yes they had a great great great Grand father named Kounta kinté, and they came from a proud nation.Many of our brothers in thd US undergo DNA test to identify their tribe of origin: fulani? Yoruba? Bantu? Always thd same question?: where do i come from ? What is the history of my family? I know some of u might think that its a useless knowledge but for me who has never really lived in the country where i was born , i really thank my Mum who has been giving me inside information on my family History, who made sure i would go to my village every time i step my foot in Senegal to greet my father's mum.. And when my Mum's father was alive, i made sure i was spending as much time as i could with him to learn about my Roots. Did that help me a lot to build my character?? I guess so! Cause knowing who u are and where u comd from will help u trace ur path and have a clearer vision on where u want to go.., or so i think. And each country i have been to, eacb person with his/her specificity, past, history has been a great school and study ground on my Life on going MBA degree.. And i am realizing that soooo many of us in spite of all the european influences are holding on to our roots no matter where we live and it is our strenght to walk through life with pride and dignity. As i said earlier this week my village is Goumbe Guéoul in Senegal but i have a village of heary in each country where i hv made brothers and sisters of heart. And this wealth is my heritage to my children. My heritage lives in me and will continue to live trough my children even if being Americans, they could become President of the USA but always reaffirm with pride like Barack Hussein Obama that his father is Luo from Kenya.tomorrow will tell. We grew from our roots and a tree separated from his roots wil fall and die.......