Ethnic Identity and Me.

I’m an American, as many of you might have been able to tell.  I have a mixed ethnicity so its always been a little hard for me to identify as any particular group other then straight-out American. To make a list of the (confirmed anyway) groups I have in my family:  Irish (Scot-Irish most likely), Welsh, Scottish, English, German, and Greek.  For awhile my family thought they had found a Cherokee relative, but that seems to have been disproved and I keep hearing Poland in the mix, though I can’t seem to find out which side claimed that.  Currently my great-aunt’s research has a possible relative whose a French Jew (although whether this person is a Frenchmen who is Jewish by religion or a Jewish person who moved to France, I don’ know).

My Uncle believes that we are related to the people who guarded Constantinople (Great job, guys) and a ‘Vampire’ (If only I could unsee what I googled there).  I know my friend found our family coat of arms, so that disproves the Vampire Theory (of which I am glad)

My one friend is Irish-Italian.  Her family (especially the Italian side) are very much in touch with their ethnic heritage.  I don’t really have that same connection.  My aforementioned Uncle likes to claim he’s Greek while forgetting the rest.  My Father (his brother) likes to claim the German.  My mother’s family is primarily Irish but they don’t really celebrate in any particular Irish way.

I kind of wish I had that connection, those traditions.  Sure, my family has a set of their own (like Pork and Sauerkraut  with mash potatoes at New Years and watching the Christmas Claymation movies) but it doesn’t have that history.

I suppose since I’m mostly Irish, I should connect with that more, but I don’t.  Nor German, and I sometimes forget I’m Greek too (why couldn’t I have inherited those genes?  Would have liked not to be so pale).

My sister and I joke that we are Euro-mutts as we pretty much the UK and two other European countries.   I guess there is too much there to hold on to any particular group.   So I suppose I’ll stick to being just a plain American for now.