I’ll be honest; there are days I worry about the future. While that may sound like a very broad statement, right now I am referring to something very specific.

Will individuals continue to care about their heritage?

A very intelligent individual, someone I highly respect and regard, made a very profound statement not too long ago. As we leave our comfortable ethnic enclaves and our children marry outside their own ethnicities, it is possible they will consider themselves more by their race as opposed to their ethnic heritage.

So that brings me to my worry.

Just like many others, I take painstaking measures to document my family history, our heritage, and the profound impact it has had on me. I work equally as hard to understand that heritage and how it has been adapted over the years. When did something “Italian” become “Italian-American?” What is our story? I do this to not just remember and honor those who came before me, but with the hope someone down the line will want to know these stories and have interest in all the information I have collected.

I was discussing this with a friend and she felt quite strongly others will be just as passionate about the preservation of our heritage as I am.

I certainly hope she is right.

She also gave me some good advice. And it is advice I have heard before. Find your own tribe. Find those who share your passion. Look for those who will encourage instead of make wise cracks and discourage.

So whenever I get discouraged, I need to remember that I am not just writing for now. I am writing for the future in the hope someone will want to read what I have collected and written.

May you find your tribe and be encouraged.