Geneology, I am Doing It! (#88. Take a Family Histroy Class)

I don't know why I haven't written about this yet, but I took a family history class last fall semester. For a long time I have had an obsession with family history. I guess I just like to know where I come from. This class focused on teaching the proper way to do family history research and I learned so much! Even though the class was to teach me how to do the research, I learned a lot about myself. Doing this research has helped to explain why I am the way I am.
I haven't done a ton of research yet, but I have learned that part of my ancestry is made up of German, Cherokee, and Welsh people. Through other classes I've taken (mostly history) I've learned about these peoples. The Welsh and Germans were known for being particularly fierce. The Welsh were warriors that were never conquered by the Romans when the Roman empire conquered Britain. They were super mean.
The Germans, I think we all know, are pretty mean too. Once upon a time, they were known for their loyalty. Which I think is a pretty awesome.
Last, but not least, are the Cherokee Indians. They are survivors and adaptors.. They survived when the white men settled in their region. They adapted to having them there. They survived the trail of tears. They adapted again to living somewhere completely new to them.
My ancestors took these traits and passed them on to their children. Through many generations these traits may have been watered down some, but I think that I still have a healthy dose of these characteristics. I can be really mean. I'm also very loyal, unless you cross me, then you might just get a double dose of mean. I think that, when I have to, I'm good at surviving and adapting.
This family history class was my favorite class that I've taken at BYU. I learned so much and I love to find out where I come from. It gives me some perspective on where I may be going.

29. Learn to Dance

When I made it my goal to learn to dance I pictured myself waltzing around a ballroom or tango-ing. The last thing I thought of was ballet. I've been told for years that I'm built like a ballerina, but I am the least graceful person that I've ever known. It may be my complete and utter lack of balance, or perhaps my dislike of tights that kept me from pursuing ballet in my early years. However, this last semester a friend of mine was taking a ballet class. He recruited my friend Melissa (who is a magnificent ballerina) and myself to take the class with him. At first it seemed like a brilliant idea. I could get in shape and realize my 'natural' ability. Needless to say, I was far from being a natural. In fact, I suck. In the words of my ballet teacher, "You've never done this before, have you?" I did learn a few things, but I don't know the names of the things that I learned. I can stand on my toes and spin around like a ballerina. I can also do the thing where they tilt their head and stare off into space. That's about all that I mastered. However, I feel like I can now say, I know how to dance. Because even if I can't do it myself, I now know how it's done, and that has to count for something..