History class covers kings and wars. Your family’s stories cover how you got here. Ask for the second one too.

The history you get taught explains countries and skips the part that explains you. Why your family is in this town, what somebody left behind, which decision sixty years ago is the reason you exist: none of that is in a textbook and all of it is available by asking. Private history has to be collected by hand.

Ask how your family ended up where it is and keep going past the first short answer. Take notes or record it, because names and dates fall out of memory quickly. One afternoon of questions gets you something no class can give you.