I was adopted when I was six years old. I don't remember much about my life before that and my memories seem to come back in fragments. They aren't in any order, they will just flash in and out from time to time.
I have never really known much about my background. One person said I was Hispanic, others said Native American, and others said Russian. I didn't know which one was true. It was a silent struggle that I dealt with. It was hard to hear other kids say "I'm German" or "I'm Hispanic" or "I'm Polish." And when asked what I was, I would say, "I don't know. My biological family never told us." For me, my history was just a blur. I can't say for a fact that all adopted children feel this, but I didn't feel whole. When we had to do family trees, I would be confused. Do I use the family that I am blood related to? Or do I use the family that has raised me and loved me? I felt like I didn't know a part of my identity. I didn't really tell anyone just because it didn't really matter. I was a part of a family that truly loved me and my biological family didn't want me so I never thought of them. Plus, by the some weird coincidence, I just happen to look a lot like the parents I have now and have loved for basically my whole life.
Then this year, my parents decided to have me take the Ancestry DNA Test. I was extremely excited to take it because I would finally have answers.
To take the test you need to put your spit in this little tube and then send it back in. I think the waiting for the results to come back was the most nerve-racking part. For thirteen years I never knew what made up my biological make up. And as someone who absolutely loves history, I couldn't wait.
I don't remember how long it took(the box said it would be 6-8 weeks but I think it was shorter than that). When my mom got the email that my results were in, I was a ball of nerves. We were finally going to see what I was. I remember chewing my lip in anticipation as the web page loaded. And when it finally showed, holy cow were we surprised.
This was breakdown:
54% Great Britain
16% Europe West (Germany, France, Switzerland)
16% Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland)
8% Irish
1% Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal)
1% Europe East (Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungry; to name a few)
1% Italy/Greece
<1% Finland/Northwest Russia
2% North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt)
Oh my gosh. Not one bit of me is American. The biggest shock was the Great Britain. According to Ancestry, I could pass as a native of England.
I like to joke around and say "This explains my obsession with their history" or "This is why I like my tea so much" or "Maybe this is why I like fruit and cheese" (It is a typical English combo. I have an uncle who is from England).
This test answered a lot for me. Now, I can say "I'm British!" instead of saying "I don't know." Since finding out the results, I've really looked into British history and culture. It's awesome for me to know and learn about what my biological make up is. That "hole" that I felt has been filled.
I highly recommend doing this if you are wondering at all. But do it during a sale period. The kit is pretty expensive.
