The Journey In My Life Of Alicia Faulkenberry

“It’s always good to remember where you come from and celebrate it. To remember where you come from is part of where you’re going.” This quote, by writer and composer Anthony Burgess could not ring more true in my life. My childhood was filled with stories of great family members and grand adventures, most of these adventure taking place in Europe. I often imagined what it must have been like in what I thought was such a far away land and dreamed of one day following in their footsteps. Now, as I am older and what I hope more wiser, I realize that all their footsteps lead to here, the United States of America. I also realize that being a part of this country was something that my ancestors dreamed of, something they sacrificed for, and something

As anyone can gather this led to me, Alicia Faulkenberry, who was given such a great opportunity in life because of the choices my family before me had made. I do not know my birth father or of his heritage and will most likely never be able to fill half the holes in my lineage to this great land. But the many great men and women that descend from my mothers family have given me more stories and memories than many people have with two sets of descent lines fully accounted for. They were adventurous. They were brave. They made decisions and thought about life in many of the same ways I sometimes catch myself thinking. My brothers and I many times think back to conversations with my beloved family members that have since past and are in awe of what they accomplished. Would we have had the courage to leave? Would we have followed our dreams? Would we even be here if they had not? These, along with many other passing thoughts are things that I believe every person must ask themselves at one point in their lives, even more so for those of us that live in such a young country founded by those very risk takers. Those that made it possible for this great country to flourish and prosper. I am only a second generation American when I look at the fact that if my Grandmother had not come here, had her parents been too scared to take such a leap of faith, I would not exist. A true testament to the