We do it for the scars and stories, not the fame.

I recently finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and in the last chapter, he writes about his family's history. It was interesting to read because he is part Jamaican, and part caucasian, and many other things. The stories of his ancestors tell so much about himself. I won't write it all here, because I think it's worth reading for yourself, the book. So go read it.

Anyway, his stories inspired me ask about my own history. I asked my mom, but she doesn't know much beyond my grandparents, so I will have to wait until the next time I see my remaining grandparent to know the full story of how I came to be.

Originally, since I'm from Chinese descent, I expected my ancestors to have been rice paddie farmers, which would have been really cool. I pictured something along the lines of the animated Disney feature Mulan.

And then I imagined that maybe I was from a long line of royalty, since I have naturally small feet, and back then, Chinese princesses and rich people used to bind their women's feet.

Those of you who have studied evolution or anthropology know that the above logic isn't true because your decisions now don't affect how your offspring will turn out, according to a number of studies by some scientists who I've forgotten the names of, even though I took the course just a few months ago. (shows how quickly information escapes my mind, yikes!)

Anyway, without further ado, I will now divulge in my family history:

On my mother's side, we're from the over-populated island known as Hong Kong. Growing up, my mother's family was poor. As a child, my mother had to work two part time jobs, go to school, and take care of her two younger brothers. She wasn't the eldest child, but she was the one with the most responsibility. However, my grandmother from this side of the family grew up with lots of servants. I'm not sure how they lost their money.

My father's side has a different story. My grandfather was a landlord in China, but then the communists came, so they had to move out of the country. They did this by pretending they were going on a vacation, but secretly they packed their bags. That was when they moved to Hong Kong. And then Hong Kong became a communist country, so then one of my aunts (the eldest one) was in an arranged marriage to my now-uncle in Canada. And thus, because of the marriage, our whole family was allowed to move to Canada.

...or something like that. I'm not sure of the details, but it seems legitimate. I'm not sure if my uncle (the one in the arranged marriage), was a descendent from one of the Canadian Pacific Railway builders. That would be seriously cool, even though it meant that his father suffered horrible conditions.

I just love having good stories to tell. I mean, I am a budding journalist afterall! My life revolves around narrative. When I am someone's grandmother, I will make sure I have lots of things to tell my grandkids. I'm going to make it a point to have an exciting life so that I can have crazy memories to recount when I'm old and greying. And thus, my legacy will continue.

Do you have any stories about your family history?