There are many times in my life that I’ve looked at something I’m doing and asked, “Is it genetic?”
Stubbornness.
A tendency to spill things on myself when eating/drinking (especially if I am wearing a light color, or need to keep my top nice).
A love of reading.
As I was studying theology and religion I kept finding myself being reminded of the string of ministers in my ancestry, and the importance of church and religion to both sets of my grandparents.
My academic drive and determination.
The competitive spirit that pops up at the strangest times, even if it’s just competing with myself.
Writing. Especially the writing.
My grandmother writes, and worked for a newspaper. I have seen cards with original poems written by my great-grandmother and grandfather.
And we made the fairly awesome discovery that I am a decendant of Robert Dinsmoor, the Rustic Bard. Some years back genealogical research came up with this fact, that one of my further-back ancestors was a published poet. And I have managed to get my hands on not only the (slightly) more common second printing of his poems, but more recently one of the original printings (as well as the most recent reprinting – because I like to be thorough?). [If you’re interested in reading some of his poems, or one short biography of him, you can do so in the free ebook version of one edition of the book]
Recently I got to spend time surrounded by extended family (for my Grandfathers memorial service) and I am reminded, even more, of just how much creativity (and ingenuity) there is among us. When I step back to think about my extended family I see musicians and writers, crafters and creative thinkers, painters and visual artists, food artists, and probably dancers too (there’s got to be some hiding out there). Though some (most) are hesitant to call themselves artists, most seem willing to admit that they have some sort of creativity in them, that manifests in a variety of ways.
Artistry, creativity, ingenuity.. I like the idea of being able to put those on the list of things that I seem to have inherited from my family. It also helps me some, to be honest, in those moments where I am unsure of myself. When I question my ability to do this or that. I can look around, and look back, and remind myself, “Of course you can do this. It’s in your blood.”
Eclectic Alli 
I think I’m the black sheep when it comes to being creative, so I would love to know where I get my passion in this area. My family doesn’t understand this world, but I keep going nonetheless. I think my grandfather could sing..yep, that’ll work!
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Perhaps sometimes it’s dormant for a few generations? Hehe.. I’m sure that, for me at least, a large part was also “nurture”… We went on a lot of road-trips when I was little, and the best way to entertain yourself on those was to either read, or come up with stories in your head.
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‘A tendency to spill things on myself when eating/drinking (especially if I am wearing a light color, or need to keep my top nice).’ – We must be related 😀
A great post though, it is nice to think skills such as creativity are passed down 🙂
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Thanks 🙂
As for spilling things… yeah…
I still remember the moment I realized that particular skill ran rampant in my extended family. Also, the trouble of
“red-wine meets white table cloth”
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I’ve often thought this too. My uncle is a professional playwrite and my mother used to write a lot of poetry for fun when she was younger. It’s an interesting thought that their passion and skills can be passed down through the generations.
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I also find it fun to dig back and try to find out who THINKS they have artistic abilities/interests. I actually put a poll out to my extended family (via facebook) and there were some who seemed to not realize the artistic abilities which i see in them.
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