Kadijah Webster; Blog #2; Where am I from?

I was born in Richmond and partially raised in the small town of Hopewell, Virginia.  I say "partially" because my family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina when I was nine years old and we stayed for seven years.  I have never really identified with Raleigh as my home because my heart was never set there.  They say "home is where the heart is" and I have always identified my home as grandma and grandpa's house.  For me, there was nothing like going home on the weekend to be with my grandparents.  For my entire life, Hopewell has been my home and when we finally moved back, I'm sure I was the only one excited for the departure from North Carolina. Now I reside in Williamsburg with all of you, which feels more like home than the place I laid my head for seven years.

When it comes to nationality, I can only identify with my mother's side.  So far, I know that I am African American, part Irish, and part Cherokee.  I could call up my paternal grandmother and easily ask her of my ancestry at anytime I want, I just haven't yet.  Maybe I will one day and maybe I won't.  Maybe I'll just pay to run a trial on Ancestry.com. I guess only time will tell.

Today, we viewed some of an episode from Roots.  When slaves were brought over to unwillingly work for men, they were stripped of everything they know.  Where they were from, was a distant idea fading with time.  Kunta Kinte was forced to call himself Toby.  By no longer going by his true name, he was being pushed further away from the place that he knew as home.  You could also see the pain in everyone around him when he answered that his name was Toby.  Personally, I feel as if I was forced to give up my name given to me at birth, I would not be whole.  Where you are from and what you have gotten from that place, builds you up into a whole person overtime.

In closing, I would like to add a thought that came to mind after watching Roots, reading and watching the interview of Anna Deavere Smith, and viewing Triumph of the Will.  During decision, the idea of power of authority and belief were brought up a few times.  Briefly, the idea of words and there affect was also discussed.  Well I believe that words, whether written or spoken, have the most affect on people everywhere.  Those in authority use their words to get them to even higher places of power.  We grow up hearing words which leads us to have certain ideas and morals.  Words, along with our surroundings, have shaped us into the characters we are today.  Without words, the world would be a mess.  No one would be able to communicate their ideas to make a place better, or even worse.  Of course, the total population can come to universally use sign language, but then that'll would be a whole separate topic.