Burgess’ grandma was born and raised in India, where she attended boarding school and completed missionary work. The time spent in India influenced her style. Upon returning to the states, her peers teased her for her traditional Indian attire. Burgess’ grandparents were professors at Missouri State University and traveled to England, India and Israel on sabbatical.

“My grandparents lived in Israel for a bit to experience more culture, focusing on Christianity,” Burgess said.

Her grandma used her life experiences to write over 20 books. Burgess and her sister, Amelia, appear as characters in, “Spirited Sisters.” In the book, each female member of the family is compared to their female ancestors. Burgess is associated with her auntie’s grandma, Lenora Scott Vassar, where their personalities, morals and values were shared.

“‘Spirited Sisters’ was interesting because I’ve never met any of these ancestors, and would never have known anything about them, if it wasn’t for my grandma. [The book gave] me insight on where I came from and why I was compared to [Vassar]. [We] were people pleasers who liked being around others and treating them with kindness,” Burgess said.

In “Spirited Sisters,” her grandma wrote about when their family walked on a battlefield in Springfield, Mo, and Sadie took a slower pace to talk with her grandparents.

“[She] wrote about how sweet I was for walking with them, and that was important to me. I [always] tried to focus on others and not just myself. [So,] I applied this lesson by thinking about how others would feel when I talk to them and being respectful,” Burgess said.

Last year, Burgess’ grandparents visited for Thanksgiving and taught her how to make authentic Masala chai from scratch. Her grandma provided tea supplies and showed how she made them while living in India.

“[She] wanted us to learn how to make [Masala] chai tea to make the most of our time together, and the whole [process] was cool. I felt like I was a Starbucks barista, and it made me think about how she did the same thing we did when she was growing up,” Burgess said.

Burgess’ family enjoy visiting their grandparents, spending time trying new home cooked cuisine or ethnic restaurants and implementing Indian food into their palette. Her favorite Indian food was garlic Naan bread.

“Sometimes I struggled with living in West County. I felt like I was in a bubble and am not exposed to a ton of different types of people. It’s important to me to experience different cultures and ensure I’m not in a bubble,” Burgess said. “By [hearing] these stories, I was more aware of life and grateful to know that I was safe. It broadened my horizons,” Burgess said.