The brown in me learned from a very young age what was required of our family. As i grew I behaved unknowingly to uphold the family tradition.

Decades later I have come to realize we cannot escape what has been ingrained in us. My father’s family has always been helpers. My fathers family didn’t strive for financial success, nor were they ambitious enough to want to accumulate. What they wanted in life was to be happy and try to be content. I am a mix of two, and my mothers side was different. So I got my competitive nature from my mom. It took me a while to realize regardless of how hard I tried my default was my fathers side, so I had to accept who I was.

I have passed on this trait, not knowing at the time, what I was doing to my children. I see my children behave with their friends and in public and realize they have picked up this trait. This is not a DNA thing but a taught thing. It’s something we can program into ourselves and our children. There is no value, nor a reward in the after life for it. What it is, is a choice. Choose to do good. In life there will be all kinds of people. It’s a fact and you must accept it. We cannot force people to be anything they are not. What we can do is control who we are. To my descendants my advice is let’s be good and do good. Help others because that is just who you are.

Source: ItsTheBrownInMe