My Family's Roots

   I grew up in a nuclear family. I have a family of four members: my dad, my mom, my younger sister and me. I was very happy to have a sister because we often created a lot of things to do and I always had a companion to do stuff with. For my part, I think if you have someone to share your thoughts, things, and toys, you learn to be outgoing and tolerant. And one day you realize that your toys belong to someone else too.

   I was named after my great grandmother. I was lucky to know my great grandparents on my father's side of the family. They migrated from Western Ukraine to the Caucasus during the World War II. My great grandma used to tell me folk tales with the slight accent and she used some words the meaning of which I didn't understand. And she was a great cook.

Some of other relatives were Cossacks and lived near the river Cuban. And my sister inherited dark hair and black eyes from them, whereas I have the opposite in appearance because I take after my great grandmother. The main characteristics of my father's side of the family, as I think now when I look back, were grit, firmness and practicality.

   As to my mother's side, her parents lived near the Caspian Sea. My ancestors came from Russia but it was sort of places where people lived in exile. There was a mixture of nationalities so I think these people were quite tolerant to each other and broad-minded as they had to live with different cultures side by side. Because of that, I suppose relatives of my mother's side are more uninhibited, imaginative and good-humored. In my childhood, I enjoyed spending time with them a lot.

   The older I get the more I want to find out about the history of my family because if you know where you come from, you better understand where you are going and who you are, I think. And now, I can imagine a little more about how my ancestors lived and in what sort of settings they lived, and what influenced them.