We All Have a Story to Tell E-Book

Bisila Bokoko

• Herausgeber: Plataforma
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 277

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

If a single word could summarize everything Bisila Bokoko conveys it would be "inspiration". Her personal story, is one of a racialized woman who has learned how to grow in the face of adversity, and her business, her wisdom, her love of books, and her philanthropic spirit will act as a guide and a path for those who dive into the pages of We All Have a Story to Tell. Discover how to make our dreams come true, how to learn from failure, how to be happy despite the hurdles, what reading can do for us —as the pages of her parent's library did for her, with which she uncovered Africa for the first time— and how to handle our fears. These are the lessons to be learned from the story Bokoko narrates so we can know how to do the same with our own. The United Nations award winning author, founder of the Bisila Bokoko African Literacy Project and owner of a life full of anecdotes and valuable lessons, reveals a vital trajectory that will help us take that step we all need to go further into the story of our lives.

Leseprobe

We All Have a Story to Tell

An inspiring testimony to help discover the extraordinary story of our lives

Bisila Bokoko

Original title: Todos tenemos una historia que contar, originally published in Spanish, in 2022, by Plataforma Editorial.

First English edition: May 2023

© Bisila Bokoko, 2023

© of this edition: Plataforma Editorial, 2023

Plataforma Editorial

c/ Muntaner, 269, entlo. 1ª – 08021 Barcelona

Tel.: [phone]

www.plataformaeditorial.com

[email protected]

ISBN: 978-84-19655-48-6

Book Cover: Pablo Nanclares

Photocomposition: Grafime Digital S. L.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright owners, under the sanctions established by law, the total or partial reproduction by any means or process encompassed in reprography, computer processing, and public rental or loan of it. To obtain permission to photocopy or reproduce any part of this work, please contact the publisher or CEDRO (www.cedro.org).

Contents

Introduction. Why this book?1. “Come home, we are taking the stories out”2. Diversity, divine treasure3. Africa, the books and me4. Giving up is not an option5. You create what you believe6. The fall from the Empire State Building7. Fear is a great teacher8. Woman, get up9. I am my home10. Your sacred circle11. A brand with your name on it12. You have to find the story you want to beAcknowledgments

To God, my ancestors, the Bubi spirits that protect us, my children Bonacha and Malabo, my husband Ulrich, my parents, and my siblings.

Introduction.Why this book?

“Escribir es la manera más profunda de leer la vida.”

[Writing is the deepest way to read life.]

FRANCISCO UMBRAL

Each of us has a story to tell. It’s what makes us unique and special. The story each of us carries is also what makes us the same; the universal idea of sharing who we are and what we know, because our story is also the story of us all. My intention with this book is to showcase how the stories of our families plant a seed inside us, one we can embrace and cultivate to later share the story of our dreams. No matter how insignificant a story may seem, the impact it can have on those who identify with it can truly make a difference.

Dear reader, I feel deeply honored that you are reading this. It is the first time I have sat in front of an imposing blank page… and actually finished the process. As with most things in life, there is a beginning and an end. I confess, I have wanted to write a book for many years.In fact, it’s been my dream since childhood. After so many stories lived, heard, told, and even created by me, I feel ready for you to read my work. Writing is like getting naked, where the words are my body, and the stories, my dresses.

One of my earliest memories of writing was around seven or eight years old. I loved writing plays. Diving into the ocean of my imagination allowed me to escape from my confusing and frustrating reality. I spent days writing the dialogues for characters who, generally, always came out victorious from adverse situations or were just immensely happy.

With the play complete, convincing my little brother Boyoyo to act out the play with me was the next step. He always agreed and with a smile on his face. We made costumes with what was found around the house and performed the play for my parents while they ate dessert. Their laughter and applause made us proud, allowing us to live a small moment of glory and off we went, proud as peacocks to write our next play.

My interest in writing plays waned at the same pace as my childhood dreams, as the demanding school work started. But, although fleeting, that love affair with theater pierced through me, and I never stopped carrying out different “performances” throughout my life.

At the age of twelve, a new language teacher showed up at school. Each week “señorita Blanca,” as we called her, had us write a story. Mine were always funny, and she liked them so much that every Monday, she would ask me to read them in front of the entire class. I will never forget what she wrote beside my grade: “Never stop writing Bisila.” Her message and attitude have inspired me since then and has encouraged me to continue on this literary path. In some way, it was because of her that I never stopped writing.

Unfortunately, señorita Blanca left at the end of that school year. I’ve searched everywhere for her as I would have loved to thank her for the motivation she gave me.

In the summer of my fourteenth year, driven by the words of encouragement from señorita Blanca, and as a way to fight the boredom of long summer days, I sat in front of the Olivetti style typewriter my father had given me as a gift and spent hours and hours writing my first novel. I truly enjoyed letting my imagination wander into worlds completely different than mine. As in Michael Ende’s Momo, “Let’s pretend the amphitheater’s a ship, and we sail off across uncharted seas and have adventures. I’ll be the captain, you can be first mate, and you can be a professor - a scientist, because it’s a scientific expedition.”

My dreams from back then were captured in those pages: it was the story of a hotel businesswoman in the United States who lived a great love story and started a family. I have always been a romantic. I think I was inspired by the American TV show Paper Dolls at the time.

The image of powerful and successful women in those days, were of those who were forced to give up a life of family and personal fulfillment. (Do you remember Cruella de Vil? She was a powerful and successful woman, although popular she was portrayed as evil and wicked…)

At the end of the summer of my 14th summer, real life took over my dreams, and once school began, the novel was put away in a drawer.

In my teenage years, I enjoyed writing erotic short stories, and shared them with my best friends at school. Still, although my sentimental life was a compilation of failed and platonic lovers, I found joy in writing those stories, which made me look interesting to my friends.

Later, at university, the focus of my writing was poetry. Writing poems was like a salve for my soul. It was my therapy for my issues and the family-related turbulence I was living in. I felt alone, misunderstood, and sad. As Pablo Neruda once said, “Poetry is not for those who write it, but for those that need it.”

When I moved to New York, I abandoned poetry. I didn’t need that safe haven to hide my tears between each typed letter because I was living my long-imagined dream. I did, however, continue writing in my journal. My entries were my everyday happenings and I realized, I was finally writing my own story.

Even though I craved it so much, it’s taken this long to publish this book because of my fear of being judged and my perfectionism, which I will explain later. I overcame those limiting beliefs, but if I’m being honest, they sometimes show up without warning and with the intention of sticking around. Nevertheless, now, after working on myself, I can tell them I am not home and avoid them when I feel them coming.

My desire with this book is to share my experiences and learnings so you can take what resonates with you and what you find valuable to help you tell your own story.

Stories allow us to make sense of our lives and to understand why certain circumstances happened. They help us analyze and find our view of the world. And if our stories can become an engine of change, it is best to share them. Right? One of my favorite authors, Khalil Gibran, once said, “There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.”

For years I found countless excuses to not write a book; lack of time and lack of financial resources to name a few. Being a romantic, I even thought of retiring for a year in Tuscany to write it… (impostor syndrome) In the end, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it and have poured my soul into it. It has also been a growing process for me, considering I experienced writer’s block at the beginning.

By reading We All Have a Story toTell, you will discover the tools I have used that led me to this sweet moment. I invite you to take those you think might be helpful and write your own story.

I have given birth to these pages organically and calmly; some of it was written in the air (literally, in an airplane, where some of my best ideas came to light – perhaps because I am so close to the sky). All of them were written between the three continents that live in me: Africa, America, and Europe.

1.“Come home, we are taking the stories out”

“Los relatos personales celebran lo que es único en cada uno de nosotros y simultáneamente tienden puentes hacia lo que es común en todos nosotros.”

[Personal stories celebrate what is unique in each one of us and simultaneously build bridges to what we all have in common.]

LUCINDA ELODIN and DENNIS FREDERICK

Everything begins with a woman

My story begins with my great-grandmother who had significant influence on me. She was driven by her commitment to education, and insistent all women should have an education, gain independence, and exude leadership qualities. Her legacy lives in me. However, she quickly realized that in a changing and uncertain environment, she had to adopt a “disruptor” attitude to increase her chances of success in life. She was fixated on the development of female talent. She was, in a way, a visionary. As we know nowadays, embracing disruptions and advocating change initiatives are essential qualities of a leader.

Although the idea of being a ”disruptor” seems to be a new trend, disruptors have been around since the beginning of time.

Currently, people who “disrupt” are talked about as being visionaries, creative, innovative, and revolutionaries and are considered groundbreaking individuals who defy conventionalities. With a disruptor mentality, overcoming obstacles is easier, as it allows us to conquer self-doubt, the weight of being judged, perfectionism, and insecurity. Even if it seems impossible, anyone can be a disruptor; it is an ability that lives deep within each of us and only comes out to the light through discipline.

My great-grandmother was a disruptor “avant la lettre,” in her day and what she taught me then, I carry with me to this day:

Education is the key to opening the doors to choose our destiny.Education is the great equalizer.Every one of us can build a new narrative.The sense of belonging comes from self-love and self-esteem.No one can choose where they are born, but they can choose how to live.Starting over is an excellent opportunity to rewrite our stories.

Atypical immigrants

“¡Oh, amor platónico! ¡Oh, fregona ilustre!

¡Oh, felicísimos tiempos los nuestros, donde vemos que la belleza enamora sin malicia, la honestidad enciende sin que abrase, el donaire da gusto sin que incite, la bajeza del estado humilde obliga y la fuerza a la que le suban sobre la rueda de la que llaman Fortuna!”

[O Platonic love! O illustrious scullery-maid! O blissful age of ours, wherein we see beauty charm without malice, honesty fire up without ember, pleasurable grace without incite, the baseness of the humble state oblige, and the strength put onto the Ferris wheel of life].

MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, La ilustre fregona

My mother immigrated from Fernando Poo, Guinea, to Valencia in 1966 when she was fifteen to make her dream come true. She left her house and family to study nursing because it wasn’t an option in her country. It was her choice. It was not my grandparents who suggested she leave the country. My mother found her mission in life when she was just a kid. She wanted to become a nurse and never doubted it. I have always deeply admired the passion for her job and the commitment to her purpose.

On the other hand, my father came to Spain a few years after my mother, in 1971, when he was nineteen. The year after he arrived, on Christmas 1972, his aunt gathered several Bubi (name for the natives from Bioki in Equatorial Guinea) students at her house, so they did not feel left out from a traditional African Christmas.

In the kitchen, cooking delicious Bubi dishes and exquisite Spanish tapas, my father found the only young woman who had not been dancing or chatting with the rest of the students at the party. She was the girl who would become his wife and later my mother. Between cigarette puffs and soda sips, they started chatting about books, specifically Miguel de Cervantes’s La ilustre fregona, which my mom was reading back then. Their mutual love of reading lit the spark between them.

According to Bubi tradition, one does not marry the other person, they marry their family, as well, I might add, all the spirits and legends accompanying that family. The family is fundamental, given that, more than just fulfilling the basic needs of the children, it has a powerful impact on the social and emotional development of any human being. Our parents teach us to discover who we are, to develop our personality, and in time, understand who we are NOT. They are also the first concept of family we have because, when we are little, we don’t mind what type of family we have or their name; we only care about our parents, and they are the ones we go to whenever we need love, understanding, and acceptance.

From our parents, other than physical and personality-related qualities, we also inherit their emotional wounds. It becomes part of our personal growth to identify, accept and work on those wounds because, though it is true that we don’t choose our parents, we can choose our attitude towards them and how much we involve ourselves with them. Do we do this with love or resentment? In this regard, we don’t have to forget that the best gift you can give yourself is loving your parents for who they are. This love is the first step in self-love and self-esteem. No matter the situation with our family, there is always a reason to be thankful.

Grandparents’ stories

“No necesitas un libro de historia si eres lo suficientemente afortunado de tener un abuelo.”

[You do not need a history book if you are fortunate enough to have a grandparent.]

Unknown author

I have always believed that grandparents are teachers and mentors who guide us even when they are not physically with us anymore. They are like libraries filled with stories, memories, and anecdotes that survive through words, travel through time from one family member to another. They share their adventures and experiences as if they were stories from a book, and these warm and intimate stories can completely change how we view life.

I believe that we should all delve into the memories, conversations, stories, and family tales that grandparents share because, at the end of the day, they are a source of wisdom. They lived through different times, and faced adversities using tools much different than what we have available now but that knowledge is still useful today.

From the time I was very young, I loved visiting with my paternal grandparents at their home and listening to their stories for hours. “Bisi, come home, the stories are coming out,” my grandmother Isabel would call to me. I never hesitated because I knew I would laugh at her fascinating stories and savor the delicious African dishes she prepared. She always had visitors over. All the Bubis who arrived in Valencia visited her house. They all had stories to “take out.” Those wonderful afternoons were filled with fanciful stories, called kongossa [gossip], in Bubi. I could spend hours listening to those tales and I remember those as the most amusing ones throughout my childhood and adolescence.

From those afternoons, I learned that stories come from within us and are meant to be shared and that doing so is a great act of generosity. That is why in our family, we say “take them out” and share them because we know and appreciate them most when we are children, and they can create deep bonds with those around us.

Cultural trainwreck

“El choque cultural es un drama genial.”

[Cultural shock makes for a great drama.]

KEN FOLLET

When I entered adolescence, a cultural trainwreck happened inside me which caused so much confusion. On the one hand, I loved being African, but on the other, I just wanted to be Spanish as I felt I had to behave a certain way to fit into my friend group.

Cultural shock refers to the impact caused by the encounter between a familiar and an unfamiliar culture. This can be anxiety-inducing and brings up feelings of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, or confusion because a person has to adjust to a different and unknown culture or social environment.

What influences do our male and female lineage have on our lives?

For some years now, analyzing and working on the influence my lineage has on my life has been of great importance to me, and it has become a path toward healing and exploring who I am.

According to Alejandro Jodorowsky, metagenealogy or psychogenealogy is the study of our family tree as a means of knowledge. This can help us understand the genealogical nature of relationships to discover the creative forces within families and to heal the wounds we have inherited. Metagenealogy, therefore, reveals the dynamics passed from one generation to another, which can either positively impact your life or make it harder.

If we do not know our family tree and consequently, do not know our ancestors and family members, the information on our lineage remains in our unconscious. However, when we bring these aspects to the light, they are freed, and the knowledge acquired about our family tree is liberating, at least it has been for me and I am still studying it. Furthermore, by understanding the influence our parents’, grandparents’, or great-grandparents’ lives have over us, as well as their “traps“, which are family traditions, taboos, and blockades that hinder our personal evolution, we learn how to live by our true selves. In fact, according to Jodorowsky, studying your family tree allows you to be who you truly are and stop being what others want you to be.

In my case, my family has never been very open about their feelings or emotions, which is why some of the family stories have remained inside the drawer of secrets, where it becomes complicated for them to come out.

Thus, for example, one of the first stories my paternal grandmother told me was about how she lost her mother by the hands of her stepfather and how she found her cold the next morning. What she never shared with me was the trauma she must have endured when she found her mother dead. I never heard about the sadness she must have felt, and the nightmares she may have had. She never told how it must have been when she had to move in with her aunt or how she lived through being separated from her sisters. I can only guess that after a time, the feelings blur and only the facts remain.

It is essential, for each of us to heal our relationships with our parents and that we honor, accept and forgive our ancestors because this reconciliation will allow us to build our reality, free ourselves from burdens that do not belong to us and heal our body and mind. This healing journey regarding our lineage is a choice we make to avoid repeating past mistakes. It involves some sort of internal rebirth and helps us find a state of fullness.

There is a powerful exercise I found that helps with the transformative work on the relationship with our lineage:

Write a letter to your female and male lineage, (your mother and father).Divide this letter into three parts: liberation, forgiveness, and gratitude.

In the first part, liberation, let out all the feelings caused by your relationship with your mother/father or your female/male lineage. Perhaps the connection has been perfect, or maybe it has not, or just not right now. This makes it the ideal place to articulate resentment, frustration, rage, anger, or just to let out anything you have wanted to say for a long time.

The next part is that of forgiveness because, regardless of what has happened, forgiveness is fundamental. Maybe the relationship did not turn out as you wanted it to, and you are disappointed; maybe you feel abandoned or an emotional void. On the other hand, it could be that you are the one in the wrong, and in that case, you also need to forgive yourself. Either way, forgiving your lineage for not knowing how to do better is liberating.

Finally, the last part of the letter is gratitude. Be thankful for absolutely everything that your parents or your lineage has done for you is very necessary and healing.

Once the letter is written, there are many options as to what to do with it. It is not necessary to give it to your parents because this exercise is simply for yourself. So, you can put it in an envelope with no sender information and leave it on a random tree in the woods or drop it in a mailbox and let the universe decide what happens to it. You can throw it in a lake or bury it in the garden. Do whatever feels right to you, but you mustn’t keep it because the action of letting go of what you wrote is an essential part of the exercise. Why dwell on the past? This is about healing and moving forward!

Cultural hybridization

Over time, I came to define myself as a “cultural hybrid” because after the cultural mixture I grew up with, I either accepted every part of me or ended up not being myself at all. Thus, I say, “I belong to the world,” given that I am Spanish and very Valencian! I am also very African and Bubi, and, of course, I am American and a full-on New Yorker. This cocktail I call “cosmopolitan” defines me! However, accepting this hybridization meant I had to go down a path I am now thankful for because after a couple of identity crises, I began to put the pieces together, enjoying and feeling proud of everything.

Cultural hybridization is an effort to balance the practices, values, and traditions of two or more different cultures. One creates an identity that reflects a new sense of self that goes beyond the limits of nationality, race, social status, or linguistic diversity. There is, in short, a multidimensional understanding of how to build something new.

A cultural hybrid is, in this way, is the process of constant transformation as they shift with great familiarity between different cultures while maintaining a sense of authenticity and cultural complexity that is an essential factor of their own identity and individuality.

Cultural intelligence

Cultural intelligence refers to the ability to interact in different intercultural situations and matters successfully and effortlessly. This concept dates back around fifteen years ago, encompassing ideas such as communication, competencies, and intercultural awareness. No one is born culturally intelligent, but instead, it is a learning process that includes cognitive (understanding), emotional (attitude), and experimental (coming into contact with things that are different) factors.

When I arrived in New York twenty-three years ago, the idea of cultural intelligence didn’t exist. Nevertheless, now that businesses and organizations deal and work with people from other cultures more often, it has become a necessary skill around the world. Therefore, preparing leaders, managers, and partners to overcome cultural challenges is fundamental in a world where we are hyperconnected.

The development of cultural intelligence is the road to helping people become professional glocals (someone who thinks globally but acts locally). In order to have a global view of business, understanding how other cultures work is required as well as learning what their differentiating elements are and knowing how to adapt to their ways without losing our identity.

How to develop cultural intelligence?

It is necessary to have intercultural experiences by first interacting with other cultures and diverse people. Thus, one can analyze conflict-inducing situations and learn from them. In his book, Cultural Intelligence, the expert Brooks Peterson indicates, “Successful interaction with people from other cultures is the heart of cultural intelligence. Knowing facts about another culture is helpful, but your approach can’t be only academic or intellectual; you must know how to interact successfully with people.”

Leading a multicultural team requires adapting how we provide answers or feedback, reevaluating the decision- making process, and reworking our leadership style, seeing that all these elements possess a vital cultural component. I have witnessed how a great leader from a Scandinavian business failed at managing a team in Africa he kept using the same work strategies that made him successful in his country. Being flexible and having the ability to adapt to a form of indirect communication, and learning to read between the lines are skills that a Scandinavian leader must develop to be just as successful in a new cultural environment.

Accordingly, in a corporate environment where cultural diversity grows, cultural intelligence demands greater relevance as part of organizational learning since it significantly contributes to the employees’ adaptation to each company’s way of working. But what is intercultural intelligence based on? Well, fundamentally, on three pillars:

Knowledge: the concepts, models, or tools that help allow “reading and perceiving” other cultures.Cultural awareness: the ability to notice any signals in a specific intercultural situation thoughtfully and creatively and find an adequate strategy for that precise circumstance.Intercultural competencies: these are necessary to adapt to intercultural challenges. The general skills are adaptability, cultural awareness, global vision or thinking, openness, and flexibility. However, qualities such as curiosity, interest in what is different, empathy, proper control over personal relationships, perseverance, and resilience are key aspects any professional should possess in order to perform adequately in a globalized world.

Ultimately, being emotionally intelligent is a necessary requirement to develop one’s cultural intelligence.

Steps to developing your cultural intelligence

Detect your biases: identify any prejudice or bias you might have. It is logical that you have them, given that most of them result from childhood stimuli, which is why we have to work on our insight and ask ourselves the right questions.Become aware: reflecting on how you relate to others is a fundamental step to moving forward in the development of cultural intelligence.

You must contemplate your own culture and the elements that rule it. For example, in the so-called high context cultures, like in the case of China, Greece, or the majority of African countries, the unspoken things are just as or more important than what is said; on the other hand, in low-context territories, such as Germany or USA, words dictate and define the messages conveyed almost entirely.

Nurture your curiosity: if you want to fuel it, you can try reading, attending workshops and lectures, or participating in debate forums on interculturality. You can also start by learning from people from different cultures, taking an interest in them and asking questions, sharing concerns, etc.Think outside the box: when it comes to interacting with people from other cultures, we must not expect them to act as we would. Presuming that would be a mistake and, in business terms, it could even put your negotiations, corporate relationships, and mutual actions at risk.

As we know, it is very likely that differences will exist with our counterparts, so before meeting with them, it is convenient that we resume the curiosity, observation, and analysis phase for the cultural reality we wish to approach. Likewise, during the meeting, our best allies are an open mind, prudence, and empathy if we want to successfully develop our own and our team’s cultural intelligence.

Get out of your comfort zone: cultural intelligence is a skill that can be learned, and in order to do so, there is no better way than facing an unknown situation where we are not completely comfortable. If we exude confidence and keep a positive mentality, we will be able to understand the different ways of relating to the global world.

Organizations are becoming more global each day, and the diversity of people they work with is only increasing. Cultural intelligence turns out to be very useful when you are immersed in international negotiation, learning about a new market, trying to get your business off the local ground, or finding the perfect way to sell your product without alienating or even offending your local consumer.

Leaders who possess a high cultural intelligence are more efficient, personally and professionally and are more aware of everything around them. These leaders are able to tell if someone is responding based on their cultural value or simply based on their idiosyncrasy.

Similarly, employees and partners possessing a high level of cultural intelligence are a fundamental part of the organization since they can bridge gaps with other people and assimilate flaws and cracks within the work team. When both leaders and employees possess cultural intelligence, the business may be stronger based on the following benefits:

Improves the communication process: in a team made up of different nationalities, discrepancies and misunderstandings are bound to happen; in this case, a culturally intelligent professional can understand the essence and the place where their message is coming from.

Therefore, a business that is set on looking for and developing this skill can guarantee competitive advantages by building a team of professionals that value and understand each other, beyond their cultures, as an asset for the company.

Encourages cooperation: when someone recognizes the importance of traditions, behaviors, the roots and communication and work methods of their colleagues, it means they are much more prepared to generate valuable relationships with others and to provide better results, as individuals and as part of the team. If we understand our differences, we can establish more efficient and bearable ways to collaborate and reach a common goal.Facilitate adaptability: when someone new is recruited into a company, it is natural that they may not feel comfortable. Generally speaking, the first months are the hardest and most challenging for those unfamiliar with other cultures. This is why this work-related competence is of great relevance, and the person who possesses this ability is aware of their pros and cons, as well as their effectiveness at accepting differences.Educate others about cultural differences: often, due to disagreements in thoughts or opinions, the workflow suffers. In this regard, businesses have seen hiring professionals who possess cultural intelligence as a solution to educate their employees on respecting others’ individuality and heritage. This skill allows us to understand others’ feelings and the inherent meanings in their culture. With this information, one can educate others to avoid misunderstandings when it comes to negotiations or conversations.Greater changes of success during global expansion: for every business interested in the international market, it is important to invest in and encourage cultural intelligence in their policies, actions, and employees, considering that it is more likely they will be able to adequately handle diversity in its first incursions in other parts of the world. Internationally oriented businesses should adapt their advertisements, messages, and even their products according to the regional context, traditions, and taboos while following international marketing guidelines.

Cultural intelligence benefits those organizations that are able to differentiate the behaviors influenced by the diverse inherent aspects of social, political, and financial contexts of each region to use their knowledge towards productivity and teamwork.

How to make your family history work for you instead of against you

In order to build your family history, it is convenient to ask yourself a series of questions: what stories do you know about your ancestors? Do you have anything in common with them? What are your family traditions? Where are your ancestors from? What do you know about your parents and grandparents? What stories or personal aspects inspire you about your family?

Family history directly impacts how we see ourselves because it provides an overview of our origin and how we fit into our family, guiding us toward establishing our fundamental identity. Each family history is like a thread in a tapestry woven with beautiful and complex designs, colors, and patterns. Like the tapestry, we are also the fusion of culture, stories, and traditions inherited from our own family.

And the fact is, family stories influence us in many ways, among which the following stand out:

Strengthen our faith in ourselves: sharing family stories encourages us to evaluate other people’s actions and give meaning to the past. Knowing that our ancestors thrived despite the challenges they faced gives us faith and hope that we can also achieve this.