My mother's past is much more complex. Her grandparents on one side are from Ireland and the border between France and Germany called Alsace-Lorraine. It was German when my Great-grandfather inhabited it but after World War II it became part of France. Because of this, he had both French and German influences. Once he got to the United States, he met a woman from Ireland - my great-grandmother. Her family came from Cork. They too came through Ellis Island and then moved to Upstate New York to escape the city. Eventually, they too moved to Long Island. My grandfathers last name was Andreas which is of German origin.
My mom's other set of grandparents came from Wales and Ireland. They both came to America through Ellis Island during the early 1900s and eventually moved to Long Island as well. My Grandma's maiden name is O'Leary showing her very Irish Background.
My parents met each other while attending Smith Town High School in Long Island. They got married and had my sister on Long Island. Then they moved to Freehold, New Jersey where I was born and then we moved to Lansdale, Pennsylvania where my little sister was born and where we still live now. All of our family lives in the Northeast corner of the United States and we do not have any relatives still in Europe that we know of.
While so many people consider themselves Italian or Irish, I feel like I am simply American. I am the third generation of people in my family who have been born in the United States. All of my grandparents, parents and then my siblings and cousins have all been born here. No one in my family speaks a native language or carries on native traditions from the country that we originated from. And because I am a mix of so many ethnicities, I feel like I can't relate to just one.
I love the way she puts the last few sentences -- I feel the same way, but never really expressed it that way. People always ask, where are you from?, are you Italian?, what ethnicity are you?, etc, etc,...to me, I am American. I don't have any living family members who are even from the original countries, so I barely have any ties...It's an interesting concept..because I feel like many people in this generation are finally feeling like their "background" is no longer italian, polish, german, greek, etc,....it's simply --- American.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how she sees herself as a mix and not just one thing where I tend to identify myself as Swedish and Polish over my Scottish, English, and Native American decent.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked your last paragraph about seeing yourself as an American. It's something that a lot of people don't think about.
ReplyDeleteThe description of your hertiage was easy to follow and giving the maiden names was helpful. Also, telling of your immediate family history was interesting cause not many included that. I also love your last paragraph and believe this is how it should be for everybody living in this country.
ReplyDeleteI love that Dianna says she may be all these cultures but she is Ameican because she can't only identify with one culture since shes made up of so many different ones. I LOVE THAT! How often when people are asked what are they they say Irish or Italian, no you are American. Well done Dianna!
ReplyDeleteI find it the fact that your mothers grandparents are from Alsace-Lorraine to be very interesting because I have never heard of this, and didn't know borders had names, including this between France and Germany.
ReplyDeleteI liked your point about feeling as though you are just American. I feel like this is a very common feeling these days. People are beginning to know less and less about their heritage which makes it harder to feel connected to it. On one hand I feel like this is a sad trend but on the other hand I think it is a good thing that Americans are feeling more connected to other Americans than being tied back to where their ancestors came from.
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