Travel has been a way to explore my individual identity to the degree I’ve felt I lacked a communal one. Exploring my ancestry, on the other hand, addresses that basic need for a group I know is an inextricable part of the me that other family and friends press up against and shape.
The biggest takeaway from the soil of my still-living ancestors, however, is the example of who I can be and what I can create. With just a little work—a little more reaching out, I could be a family oriented woman with strong ties to anyone perched on a branch of my own or even a neighboring family tree--much like the Kelly, Johnson, or especially the Kirby women.
Sometimes travel serves no other purpose than to show us where we belong.
When you think about it, how can we not link travel to who we are? We are, because we traveled.
the RAMBLE 