Sarah_10_I

The example given in the chapter about the "Stewart Woman" really made me think of my own experiences of hearing family stories. My parents never said anything like "You're a Jones" or "You come from the Turners (my mom's family)," and I think saying things like this sounds kind of family sitcom-ish. But their stories always let me know just what kind of people I come from, and whether it was intentional or not, the stories helped me decide the type of person I wanted to become based on those from which I've descended. I know from these stories that my family is full of simple, hardworking people who have tried to live honest, good lives. We come from the extremely rural parts of Kentucky and Virginia where, to some even today, indoor plumbing is an unnecessary luxury. I even remember visiting some family as a child and refusing to use an outhouse. I personally think the rural, outdoorsy life sucks a lot, but the stories of my family have taught me that life isn't easy and it's not always luxurious. It is what it is and we take it at face value. I'm glad my parents have told me about my family and where we come from. It's helped me put the world around me into a better perspective.


P.S. I would just like to say how much I love the automatic save feature because one of my cats thought he would crawl into the tiny space behind my desk and flick off the power strip in the middle of my post. He's not in nearly as much trouble as he would have been if I'd lost the whole post rather than just one sentence.