My German mother, who knows that I am interested in history, recently sent me her family records dating as far back as 1835 including birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, baptism records, photos and even World War II letters, almost 200 years of stories!

I have been studying them and their every detail in search of clues, both from a practical and
philosophical perspective. Here is what I found:

1) My ancestors were simple, working-class people. My great-great grandfather was an “Instmann,” which according to Google means “day worker on a farm.” The women in the family were either not working or were in service positions in other households.

2) For a minute I was startled when I saw that marriage certificates recorded the woman’s status as “Jungfrau” (virgin). I thought that was going a little too far, measured of course by today’s standards, however, I realized that it was just another old German term and the literal translation means young woman.

3) My family lived through many historic moments, inclusive of two world wars and the Hitler regime, as evidenced by stamps of the Third Reich with the Swastika on many of the documents.

4) Within the records my mother provided was a letter from one of her uncles during WW II, written to his family from a field hospital. It was about recovering from an injury and sending greetings to his young niece, Hannelorchen (my mom). Unfortunately, he never returned home.

I am grateful for these tidbits of my heritage, and I recognize that many people’s search for family clues lead to a dead end, e.g. if they were adopted and have been unable to access their birth parents to find more information.

There has been an ongoing debate of “nature vs. nurture,” nature describing the genealogical impact on our trades versus nurture referring to the environment in which we are raised. Our DNA may be undeniable and explain our genetic make-up: our race, eye color, or resemblance to our ancestors, but what it does not offer is an explanation of the impact our upbringing has on us.

My non-scientific opinion on the matter is that the values and the lessons we were taught during our childhood and early adulthood play a HUGE factor on our lives and our careers. My mother was a strong role model for me, a hard worker who overcame hunger, poverty and displacement from her home during World War II. My parents were small business owners, and made it their mission to provide for our family so that we would never lack for anything, in hopes that their children would someday exceed their own accomplishments.

I imagine that it is those values that drive my personal and career successes more than my genealogy. The belief that my parents, grandparents and great-great grandparents could overcome world wars, a dictatorship, poverty and hunger, is granting me great strength to tackle anything standing in the way of my success.

To quote Dwayne Johnson, aka “The Rock,” when talking about his young daughter, “She can be anything she wants. She can sit at any table. She can trailblaze a path, while humbly and gratefully recognizing those before her who paved the way.”

So can you! Irrespective of your DNA, go and trailblaze that path for yourself and future generations!