Which part?

My dad is into genealogy, so I know a LOT about my lineage. Interesting stories, mostly, and all the famous people that all of everyone is also related to. His work has opened my eyes to how connected we actually are. All of us. Looking up the line is overwhelming, as looking forward from the past shows an exponential spread of DNA going down and out that becomes diluted with each generation, mixing of this talent and trait with that one until maybe a spec is left of a person that history counts as legend. But I like to think that somehow certain gifts have escaped the hundreds of years of watering down that led to me. I am not a pure bred anything, but no one is. Empires conquered empires, and the influences of some reached every corner of Earth, which in turn spread to other corners and so on. I have learned a lot of history from my dad in his quest to connect the dots, one fact being that time is rife with brutality but displays evidence of hope and beauty and love. Humans are complex but predictable, as is the trail of history left in their wake. And we are all part of that history. We descend from it. We are the sum total of those who came before us.

But none of that answers the question. What am I most proud of?

My dad. My mom. Their parents. Who they are and were and how I inherited the things I love most about them. There’s bad in there too, which I cannot deny. But I am also proud of how we all learned to overcome the darkness.

What fascinates me maybe even more than the past is how someday my own talents and traits will pop up down the line. Someone might look like me or share my affinity for literature and general frivolity. I imagine I will pass on the passions I got from those who came before me.

My heritage is an amalgam of many, and I’m fascinated by each one and how they combined. My pride is of the people who formed and reformed that heritage. I might be molding it some, and I’m proud of that, too.