23 and Me | discovering my ancestry

I am so excited to write this blog post you guys! If you follow me on Instagram ( everythingjewels ) you would have seen back at the end of July for our 10 year wedding anniversary one of the gifts I gave to my hubby and myself was the gift of discovering our true DNA heritage.

This is something that I’ve always wanted to know for myself. Growing up I only knew my ancestry as being Ukrainian. Even though I was born in Estonia and went to school there before my family immigrated to the United States of America in 1997. I don’t speak Estonian I wish I did but because the country was part of the ussr before becoming independent, the country has a lot of Russian speaking residents. So to break it down by blood I am Ukrainian, by birth I am Estonian, but I speak Russian, and I’m a US citizen. Wow that was a lot right? Lol.

Okay now let’s get into what this blog is actually about. So once hubby and I received our kits we mailed them out right away. They are so easy all you do is open the package take the tube out spit into it and seal it shut then drop it off at your local post office. Before spitting you must wait 30 minutes after you have eaten or drank anything including brushing your teeth. I actually waited about a hour because I completely lost track of time.

Forward 7 weeks later I get my results! Now when you mail it out you have to write down the barcode on the tube that is provided and register that code online or the app which is what I did for hubs and my kit we both downloaded the apps on our phones just to make it easier.

I can’t even tell you how anxious I was to receive my results, first of all our kits included the ancestry and the health report so if I am a carrier I’d know exactly what I could pass down to my children. I also would receive the genetic health risk report, the trait report and the wellness report. Honestly it was so worth getting the additional health report because it’s so interesting and after reading through mine I’m glad to say I got a clear on the carrier and the genetic report. That was such a relief. The trait and wellness was also very interesting as some of the information was completely spot on.

Ok let’s get into the ancestry part!

I am 100% European!!! Which means I don’t have any Asian, African or Native American in me which honestly I kind of knew anyway.Check my results below!

Eastern European 89.3%

Ukraine

Slovakia

Poland

Russia

Hungary

Lithuania

Balkan 2.3%

Romania

Croatia

Bulgaria

French & German 1.9%

Ashkenazi Jewish 0.3%

Broadly Southern European 2.6%

Southern Europe, including the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas as well as the island of Malta, is a region defined in great part by the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean has provided transportation routes, keeping these regions connected culturally and genetically. Broadly Southern European DNA matches several specific populations and is difficult to assign to just one.

Broadly Northwestern European 1.7%

Northwestern Europeans are represented by people from as far west as Ireland, as far north as Norway, as far east as Finland, and as far south as France. These countries rim the North and Baltic Seas, and have been connected throughout much of history by those waters. Broadly Northwestern European DNA matches several specific populations and cannot be assigned to just one. This shared heritage may be the result of extensive migration, possibly including the Germanic invasions of the early Middle Ages.

Broadly European 1.8%

Much of Europe was buried under miles of ice ten thousand years ago. As the glaciers receded over millennia, Neolithic farmers from western Asia joined Paleolithic hunter-gatherers to settle Europe. Some European DNA is difficult to assign confidently to one population and receives a “Broadly” designation.

More information about the kit below!!