Heritage Blossom was inspired by my friend and Leadership Oklahoma classmate Tammye Gwin. I knew Tammye prior to our LOK year but really got to know her better then. We had several wonderful conversations that year but one in particular stands out. Tammye is Choctaw and is from southeastern Oklahoma and we had a long conversation about growing up and being different from those around us and finally realizing later in life that its really a wonderful thing to be different and that we need to celebrate and embrace the things like our cultural heritage that make us who we are. I enjoyed hearing about her family and their traditions and about all of the things that she had learned about the Choctaw Nation in her quest to embrace her heritage. Tammye has worked hard, even learning the Choctaw language, to grow as a person and to embrace the rich heritage that she comes from.