Elena Kampouris Quotes

My Irish derivation has nothing to do with me. Why should it?

One time, I went to school, and they asked us all to find out where our roots were. It's goin' around the class, and the kids were going, 'I'm Swedish-German' or 'I'm English-Irish.' They got to me and I said, 'Pure Kentuckian.'

I never, by any regard, ever denied any part of my family roots.

I have English blood running through my veins!

It's good to know where you come from. It makes you what you are today. It's DNA, it's in your blood.

I've known where my heritage is from all along.

I have blood from Dutch and Norwegian.

There is a strong propensity in the human mind to trace up our ancestry as to high and as remote a source as possible; and if our pride and our ambition cannot be gratified by a real statement of facts, fable is substituted for truth, and the imagination is taxed to supply the deficiency.

When we were children, we were told that we have a motherland, and that motherland was Spain. However, we have discovered later, in our lives, that as a matter of fact, we have several motherlands. And one of the greatest motherlands of all is, no doubt, Africa.

I was researching my family tree, and I was deeply hoping I was going to turn out to be Eastern European, but I'm not.

My lineage is partially Irish.

We have to redefine what we mean when we say, 'Who are your people?' 'Where are you from?'

My African roots made me what I am today. They're the reason I exist at all.

Though born in Nova Scotia, I am of almost pure New England descent.

You want to try to find your heritage.

I've always known that my father's father and grandfather and grandmother were from Mexico. I've never denied it. I've always said it.

I know my roots and I cannot forget the journey I made.

I have no history but the length of my bones.

I don't know much about my family history except that my father had straight black hair and his ancestors probably came from India.

For a while, I thought a lot about lineage. Where do I belong? Who am I standing next to?

Roots are not in landscape or a country, or a people, they are inside you.

I think what I've learned out of this lifetime is you should be proud of where you come from.

My father's family is German and Czech.

I feel like our history and our roots make us who we are.

My family in St. Louis brings me to my roots.