"Some people are your relatives but others are your ancestors, and you choose the ones you want to have as ancestors. You create yourself out of those values"

This quote by Ralph Ellison talks to the idea that we are the developers of our own identity. We have the power to pick which values we want to embody and which forefathers we want to have. Our relatives may be a part of our lives, however our ancestors are the ones we choose to look up to and imitate. We can produce ourselves out of the worths we select to embrace, and these worths will form our identity and our future. This quote encourages us to be mindful of the values we choose to live by and to be intentional in our selection of forefathers. We have the power to develop ourselves and to shape our own fate.