One thing I always wanted to do was to figure out what my DNA was. It was something I wanted to do for a long time.
During my freshman year, I believe, I found out that my parents and I were going to take find out our DNA through Ancestry.com. I was so excited.
When the results finally came back, I was shocked by what I saw. I knew the whole “you’re German, Scottish, Irish” thing, but I always wanted to know what else I was.
The results at that time were: Scottish, Norwegian, Welsh, Irish, German, Central European, and Nigerian.
Naturally, after reading what my results were, I was completely shocked. I was always told that because of how I looked, I was most likely 50%-ish German. That was not true at all. I was in fact 43% Scottish and 15% Norwegian. Those were the two that were the “big” numbers.
After finding out, I told a few of my friends and the rest of the family. I remember my one friend, I will keep her anonymous, when I told her my results, she was shocked, especially with me being <1% Nigerian. She and another one of my friends, also anonymous, told me that they see it in my attitude. To be honest, I still don't know if that's a compliment.
When I told the rest of my family, they were just as shocked. They all believed that it was going to say that I was more German because of how I look. The looks on their faces when I read out my results were great. They were shocked by them and said that they want to do it now.
Since receiving those results, they have changed from time to time. The last time I checked, it said that I was French. Once again, I was shocked, but everything else stayed the same. This time, however, is very different. Below are the results.
Celtic and Gaelic:
39% Central Scotland and Northern Ireland
13% Northern Wales and North West England
5% Donegal, Ireland
England:
19% Southeastern England and Northwestern Europe
2% West Midlands
Nordic:
15% Norway
6% Denmark
Central and Eastern Europe:
1% Southern Poland
West Africa:
<1% Nigeria
Everything that I am, I am shocked and also happy, because I now know where my ancestors are from. I now know my roots. I never would have thought that I was Norwegian, Danish, Polish, and Nigerian.
I love it because no one would think that I am Norwegian, Danish, Polish, and Nigerian by how I look, people would automatically assume that I am German, Scottish, and Irish, which they are not wrong about…well, currently the German part, yes.
But it is almost like the saying “never judge a book by its cover,” never judge a person by their cover, because you never know where their roots are from.