01.25.13

Sankofa

There is a concept that originated in West Africa called Sankofa. This concept, translated, means, "it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you have forgot." This does not apply to leaving your keys in the door, or your coffee on top of your car. This concept relates to the past that shapes us. It is okay to reach back into our roots, our mistakes, or memories, and the feelings associated with those memories and use them as tools to shape a better future.
I first stumbled across this concept in my Black American Literature class, the very first day of the semester. I used to think that the past should stay in the past, that mistakes should not be forgotten, but should never be spoken of again. I used to believe that you take those emotions felt way back then, the pain, shame, heartache, yearning, and misery and shut them down when they rear their ugly heads. That when you remember those times that made you feel that way, you flip your switch, shut it off, that way you don't have to rehash the past.
Well, I was wrong.
The concept of Sankofa is the truest statement I have come across in my short existence here on earth. I have begun to look into those significant moments that have created the person I am today.
I want to take this post to shout out to some people who have played parts in my world that have impacted my life in forever changing ways.
My parents and grandparents:
I obviously would not even have a life if not for you. You have been the constant in a world full of change.
Mom, we may have our ups and our downs, we may fight and bicker, but at the end of the day, I still need my mommy. And I will always be your little girl.
Dad, I have always been and always will be a Daddy's girl. You are my hero. You have always taken care of me, even when you physically could not be there. I will never stop loving you, and I pray you know that.
Pepe and Meme, I know you are no longer a part of this world, but you will forever hold a place in my heart. Thank you for taking care of me and Evan, loving us unconditionally. Knowing you, having you in my life, has made me a better person. You both have given me a kind of love to hope and look forward to for myself. 
Grandma Sharon, Papa Jack, Grandpa Don, and Grandma Peggy, you have all made life so easy for me, and with all of you having been in my life, I am blessed every day.
Evan and Nathan, my brothers, you are my entire world, and I would do absolutely anything for the both of you. You both mean so much to me, and I pray we stay close even when we're still fighting over the remote in the old home.
My best friends, you keep me grounded when I feel like the world is trying to uproot me. Without you all, I would be absolutely alone in a world of douchebags. And that would just be bad. 

Anyways, those who have portrayed significant roles in our past shape our future. They shape our now, and they shaped the path the got us here. Also, those people provide us with memories, both good and bad. Those experiences provide us with emotions to use as weapons for possible situations we may face in the future.

Resolution #025: The people who were meant to be in our lives, will be in our lives. Whether we want them there or not. Those people who broke us down or cast us aside, are only proof of how strong of a person we have become. And if those people--the ones who hurt us--are still meant to be in our lives, then they will be. They will find some way, some how, to redeem themselves. And it is up to us to forgive and move forward. Because, as Fate would have it, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.