The DNA testing journey begins... Part 1

So this year for my birthday, my fiance' and I were supposed to take a road trip to New Orleans to attend my graduation. (I received my master's of science in information systems and technology management.) However, the weather had other plans for us. It decided to storm and flood, and both my state and Louisiana were quite dangerous as far as roads were concerned. Seeing as how I didn't feel the need to unnecessarily fight for my life, I decided that I did not want to go.

My fiance' felt it was a huge accomplishment and that I should receive or do something else to celebrate. I on the other hand, felt we should just save money for our impending wedding in July and another trip that I would need to take before that. He kept insisting though that we would be fine financially, and that he really wanted to do something special for my accomplishment.

 I couldn't think of anything at first, but then an old idea popped back into the forefront of my thinking from my subconscious. I had always wanted to do a DNA test and see what I'm mixed with. Beyond being black and in America, I had no idea. Sure, many that look like me know that we are most likely descended from slaves and that we are majority African being how brown-skinned and nappy headed we are. If we have learned even a little bit about the history of slavery in the United States, then we also figure that we are most likely from West Africa. Hey, every little bit of helps. Africa is a big place, so that does narrow it down a little.

Outside of that, I was clueless. I was fortunate enough to have my great-grandmother assist in my upbringing, and most of the joys of my childhood come from that experience. However, she never really talked much about her childhood or where we come from. I figure either she didn't know a whole lot herself, or it was a hard life that brought up difficult memories. I now think the answer is a combination of both.

Taking the Tests and Waiting...and Waiting...and Waiting...

Anyhow, my fiance' and I set out to take some DNA tests. (Of course he wasn't willing to let me have this much fun alone!) With very little knowledge and a whole lot of excitement, we chose to take the admixture tests from Ancestry.com. We also chose to take the matriclan and patriclan tests from AfricanAncestry.com.

We ordered the AfricanAncestry.com test kits on Tuesday, March 8, 2016. On Saturday, I took the matriclan test from AfricanAncestry.com and I had my brother take their patriclan test the next day. I mailed them off on Monday, March 14, 2016.

 We ordered the Ancestry.com test on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. The test kits arrived on Monday, March 15, 2016. The next day, my fiance' mailed our kits off. In my online account, I received notice that my kit had been received on March 18, 2016.

That's when the wait began. I learned that I'm even more impatient than I thought I was (and I already thought that I was very impatient). This mess was as hard as waiting nine months for my babies to be born when I was pregnant! In the meantime, I watched youtube videos to pass the time. Here are some of my favorites if you are interested. I'm not one to write a whole lot at one time, so enjoy these vids, and I'll be back later to finish my story.

This family was a lot of fun. When the one brother couldn't accept the results and declared that he was from Ancient Egypt and his great-great-great-great-great-great...grand-daddy was the Sphinx...I promise I think I died.



This sister is hilarious. It was just a fun video to watch.



WHY - out of all of those ethnicities with much higher percentages that he has in him - does George Lopez decide that he's black? No one knows, but it is funny. Mariah Carey wasn't in her best form. In fact, she was quite irritating. I wish she had been much more quiet.



So who is blacker - Snoop Dogg or Charles Barkley? They are too funny.





 Until next time...