For the last several weeks, I’ve been checking my Ancestry account border-line obsessively every morning and evening. At first, I anticipated that my results would arrive early, much like my mom’s. Yet when I logged into my Ancestry account and received a notice that they had more DNA to analyze than usual–and that results may take longer to analyze–I felt dejected. As I packed my gown and tassel to leave for my college graduation in Virginia, I gave my Ancestry a final look before unplugging my laptop and leaving it behind.
But just when I thought I wouldn’t know my Ancestry results until I got back from my trip, my phone buzzed with a text. Yep, my Ancestry DNA results were finally uploaded! So from a coffee shop’s parking lot in an unknown-to-me Virginia town, I held my breath as I clicked open the Ancestry website. Finally, the results I’d been waiting for…
As soon as I opened the Ancestry website, I could view my primary heritage–England & Northwestern Europe, plus Scotland. Based on my mom’s results, this wasn’t super surprising, as I knew her high percentages of each would give me higher percentages, too.
When I opened the page to view my other two origins, I felt a tad more surprised. My Ireland percentage (3%) was slightly higher than my mom’s (2%), which let me know that my dad must have a small Irish ancestry, too. The “Cameroon, Congo & Western Bantu Peoples”? Slightly surprising, but not much! Years ago, I traced my ancestry back to my fifth great-grandfather, John Alexander Blaine, who served as an enlisted man in the 57 United States Colored Infantry, which was an African American regiment during the Civil War. What was surprising to me, though, was that any of his heritage–even 1%–would show up in my Ancestry results, since he’s a grandfather who’s a bit far back in my family tree.
After hopping off of my Ancestry ethnicity results, I headed over to one of my next-favorite features of Ancestry’s DNA kits: traits.
Since Ancestry got nearly all of my mom’s traits right, I couldn’t wait to explore mine! That said, I found that Ancestry assessed my mom’s traits with a far greater accuracy than mine, which could be a total fluke or could perhaps be associated with our different ages and therefore how “set” our ways are. Even if many of my results weren’t exactly right–I’m quite likely to try new things and in no way am I an introvert like Ancestry predicted–many of my results were still pretty accurate.
Ancestry claimed I wouldn’t like watching sports, which is 100% true. (Oddly enough, though, I love playing sports, just not watching them!) Ancestry also asserted I’d be unlikely to play an instrument (also true, although I can play the radio well). Finally, Ancestry also predicted that I’d be most likely to own a pet. As a pet parent of multiple pups and kittens–some of which just went on vacation with me this year–I guess I can partially chalk my love of pets up to my DNA.
After finally receiving my DNA kit, I’ve done some introspection on the entire process. While I started out a little hesitant about the whole process, I can now say that I’m happy that I took the leap and ordered a kit!
From knowing my ethnicity to having 49 traits listed (by parent, which is also fascinating), my Ancestry results gave me plenty to explore. Not to mention, being able to view the regions where my cousins live is fascinating. Apparently, I have distant cousins all over the world, from various US states and Europe to Australia and Hawaii.
Even so, there were a few things I would have changed. Primarily, I wish Ancestry had shared a new estimate of my DNA result’s arrival after they realized they wouldn’t meet the original date they gave me. Without having a new estimate, I was left guessing–anxiously waiting, no less–when my results would arrive. Plus, while I recognize that Ancestry traits aren’t entirely accurate, others may find the results involving their health a bit alarming. For example, individuals may find the analysis of their vitamin levels a tad concerning, especially if Ancestry claims that vitamin levels are lower than normal.
Overall, however, I would definitely recommend an Ancestry DNA+Traits kit to anyone who’s hoping to learn more about their ethnic roots or cousins from around the globe. As soon as you send off your DNA sample, though, just be prepared that DNA kits may provide results about your family’s ethnic background that is surprising. But then, when is history not surprising? So often, the fun of history is in the search and the journey–unexpected details and all.
Happy Researching!
