So I have been thinking a great deal about my roots lately. My whole life, I have only seen my parents on the surface-my mother has white skin, my father has black skin, therefore I am half black and half white. I know my biological father's family line is very rich with history, I guess I was just too caught up in my own life to research it before. With the recent idea to write a new novel about the south and its repercussions on two people who fall in love, I decided I might want to research more into my paternal family line and possibly use that history to weave into my story. I signed up for a free trial on ancestry.com and I've been furiously working to find out more about my heritage. I know that my father's last name was given to us by a slave owner in the 1800's, but who he was and who he gave the name to are a mystery to me. I also want to know why my Granny's skin is lighter than mine and she has always been regarded as African American. I know there is Native American blood running through my Granny's veins, but how much? Is it possible that I am more Native American than I am African American? Her blood mixed with my mother's Navajo Indian blood makes me wonder how the percentages have taken shape within me. My mom doesn't think it's a coincidence that people always have a hard time placing my ethnicity, and I'm starting to realize maybe I have been placing myself in the wrong categories for too long. I think in order to fully embrace my heritage, I have to find out what my roots are first.
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