Where Do Your Roots Grow From? I am a tree reaching for the sky, not always knowing where my roots are buried. I feel them from afar. I did not choose my genealogical past, yet it lives within me. Sometimes echoes of my ancestors’ voices reach me. There is shadow, pain, and uncertainty, but these roots have shaped who I am today. In them lie experiences and skills that occasionally manifest invisibly in my character, manners, sudden insights, and ideas. Am I afraid of them? Both yes and no. I acknowledge and accept them, for only through this can I grow, transforming my heritage into strength. But to reach this understanding, I had to overcome many fears, limitations, and beliefs. Self-awareness is not just about nationality or a place on the map. My roots may sprout not only from family trees but also from broken branches. My ancestors could be those I would never wish to have in my history. Yet they are part of me, like light and shadows in every day. I accept this and rise above fears and judgments. My identity unfolds when I acknowledge everything that stands behind my name and choose who I want to become. This is my choice — my moment, when I stop being merely a shadow of my ancestors and start writing my own story. My roots provide a foundation but do not confine me within walls. They do not obligate me to repeat mistakes or follow paths paved before me. Understanding my origin is only the first step. The second is deciding what I will take from that past and what I will leave behind. A tree can bloom even when its roots have grown through stone. Willpower is stronger than circumstances, and choice is the right to create myself as I wish to be. I have myself. And where do your roots grow?