Week 15: DNA

     DNA has been a very hot topic lately. Everyone is wanting to find out where they come from, find more relatives, and in some cases see who their birth parents are. I have had my DNA tested through 23 & Me, but only because they offered it for free if you did one of their studies. Not only did I get my Ancestry tested, I got my Genetic Health tested as well. That's what I was most interested in. I was able to learn more about what runs in my family as far as diseases, traits, etc. I am prone to be afraid of heights (So true!) and my genetics suggest, I do not like the taste of Cilantro (Which I don't). Lots of interesting information for sure.
     I've been doing my genealogy research since 2012 and have traced my roots back to when most of my family came to the United States. So according to my research, I should mostly be German & French. Boy did I get a surprise. According to my Ancestry DNA, I am 50.6% British/Irish and only 34.3% German & French. Say what?! This has stumped me ever since I got my DNA tested. And I am sure my family is my family After doing some research, a lot of German's made their journey to the UK during the Great Migration, so it's possible that's where that information is coming from. At some point I will do my ancestry at Ancestry as well just to see if here is any difference. I have not tested my parents yet.
     If I could, I wish I could get my Uncle Jerry tested. He is only my half Uncle. My grandma was married once before, but they got divorced. There was talk that he might have had other children. So if anything I would love to get my Uncle tested just to see if he has any other siblings out there. My cousin Christine, his daughter, is very interested in the research.
     While DNA is doing wonderful things for so many people, I am just not that interested in it at the moment. I just don't have reason to be. Most of my journey is finding ancestors, not descendants. I know, finding living descendants can definitely lead to ancestors and break down brick walls. And one day I might be ready to do that. But at the moment, I'm content with how I'm doing my research at the moment.

Have you had your DNA tested? Did you find any surprises? Was it what you expected?