Several years ago my younger brother Derek asked me this very important question – ‘What are we?’
He was referring to our ethnic makeup. I pulled out one of the many small, yellow legal pads my mom keeps around and began calculating. I did have to refer to my tree to double check a few things but the result is this, I am:
- 7/16 English
- 3/16 French-Canadian
- 1/8 Scottish
- 3/32 Danish
- 1/16 Spanish
- 1/16 Italian
- 1/32 Welsh
I still have that ratty yellow piece of paper. I think I have hung onto it because it felt so concrete – this map of my fractions. So many things are used to define us but this, this was a beautiful math problem that represented all of the people who came before me. The people to whom I owe my very existence. The people who I carry somewhere in my DNA and more importantly – my heart.
Have you taken the time to answer the question?