" But the part of these trees that really mattered to me right now was the roots. Those are the parts of the tree that search through the soil for nutrients and water, and slowly discover what is buried deep underground. I was what was underground here. The majority of who I really am is buried underneath the surface, and no one sees it. I am always connected to the deep river of knowledge, my taproot sliding right into the river’s main spring. And these trees were trying to determine who I was from the little bit of me that they could see sticking up above the soil. It hardly seemed fair that they could judge all that I am from the little bit that they could see interacting with other people, because that’s the smallest part of who I am. I was still thinking of myself as a hidden root system, deep underground, when my mother stood up and then Uncle Mike stood up next to her. My mother reached out to my shoulder and tapped my skin firmly. "

― Ned Hayes , The Eagle Tree