I Believe In The Tales And Lessons Passed Down From Generations 
 

As humans we all make mistakes, it is inevitable it is part of what makes us humans. However, the important thing is for us to learn from those mistakes and never make them again. This was one of the most important pieces of advice that I heard growing up. In Jamaica, there is a saying that says” those who do not live a clean life will eventually meet their waterloo.”  In simple terms, if you do bad things then bad things will happen to you. However, for us to fully understand the message in this, there is a generational story that my family would always tell me about a wicked uncle, who lived a very selfish life. Whenever I made a mistake or was out of line my mom would tell us about this uncle who in his early years had hurt a lot of people, he not only hurt them but would steal and take advantage of his family members. However, when he got older, he became bedridden and started to have a lot of regrets in his life. While in bed, he began calling each of his family including my mother whom he had hurt or had done wrong. Now some may ask why to tell the story.  

This story was meant for us to understand the importance of living a good life, growing from our mistakes, and treating people the way we want to be treated. Through this story, our family can teach us the value of learning from our errors and living a life where we will not have many regrets when we are older. There are many more tales and stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. These lessons are passed down as a way for us to learn from the mistakes of our ancestors. It is also a way to understand our family values and why it is important to take care of each other.