Today I wanted to talk about something very personal and interesting. I recently took a 23andMe DNA test. First, you purchase it online at 23andMe, it is, of course, a bit expensive. It is normally $200 or $100 dollars depending on the type of test you take. Right now they are having a huge half-off sell until Nov. 26 so I would highly suggest clicking on the link. First, you buy a package and you will receive it in the mail in about a week. Then, you open the package, this is what it looks like when you open it:
The box gives you step by step instructions on how to open the container, how much saline to put in it, and how to seal it back up and re-box it to ship out. It also gives you instructions on the app and creating an account with your saliva barcode on it. From there, you ship it back at no cost and the app will show you where your sample is at, from the lab receiving it to the lab analyzing data and you will receive your results on the app. I choose the health and ancestry package and this one tells you exactly what percent you are of which ethnicities and what region those ancestors of yours came from. If you have any genetic variants that could lead to any diseases now or further down the line. It breaks down all of your data health-wise and everything that makes you, you. Even the traits you are likely to possess or where any of your extended family may live if they have them in the database. It will look something like this:
This is just an example from their website, I do not want to take a picture of my results, but I will tell you what they were. I am 20% Native American & East Asian, consisting of some Korean, Japanese, and mostly Native American. I am also 2.6% Western Asian & North African, consisting of Arab, Egyptian, Levantine, and North African. As well as, .6% Sub-Saharan African, consisting of Nigerian and West African. I am mostly 40% white, consisting of Irish, British, and Italian. I am 36% Mexican and a bit of that is also Spanish. The last couple of percentages left are unassigned so they could not pinpoint where the last of my DNA came from. I was very surprised that I was any percent African and that my white half is mostly Irish and British. As well as the big 20% of Asian and Native American, that is quite a large percent of my DNA. I always wondered why I looked mostly white when my mom is white and my dad is Mexican. I am half Mexican and half white I just assumed, half from each parent is what I was. It turns out I am more white, my mom's genes were stronger than my dad's genes so I am white and Hispanic, but just a little less Hispanic than I thought. I have still been saturated in Hispanic culture my whole life so this does not change anything for me but it sure does explain why I appear to look white and not Hispanic. This was a very eye-opening test and I am very happy to Know what ethnicities and genetic DNA I am made up of. This is a great way to discover more about yourself and even where your ancestors came from, I highly recommend this test if you have money for it. Let me know if you or anyone you know has taken a DNA or genetics test before and what you thought of it!
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