Turning 40 + 23andMe Results

Well, hello there, 40s! I know many women have mixed feelings about turning 40, but I was excited about it (my birthday was in May). The plan was to jet off to Europe and turn 40 in Paris. As you can imagine, that plan fell through thanks to Covid-19. As the months and days inched closer to the big day, I started to feel depressed about it, not because I was entering a new decade but more so because I wouldn't be able to celebrate it in a big way.

Two days before my birthday, something clicked. I thought to myself, so what if I'm not able to celebrate my birthday in a big way. There's always next year; Paris isn't going anywhere. There are so many things to be grateful for, like surviving a pandemic, my health, friends, family, husband pup, blog, skincare business, and career. Things could have been so much worse, but they weren't; I'm still here, thriving, living my best life. My birthday celebration was low-key; brunch with a couple of friends and massages with my husband, Eric. Afterward, we had a nice lunch at one of my favorite Italian restaurants (if you're ever in NYC, check out Aunt Jake's in Greenwich Village) and cupcakes from my favorite bakery Magnolia. I had the best time, and you know what? I wouldn't change a thing, I was surrounded by people that care about me, and in the end, that's all that mattered on my special day.

As a birthday gift to myself, I finally decided to take the plunge and do a 23andMe DNA test. The truth is I'd wanted to do one for years and, for whatever reason, never got around to it. My brother and sister took the test a few years ago and had been eagerly awaiting my results. The results were ready a few weeks before my birthday, but I promised myself I wouldn't look at them until the day of (the struggle was real).

So without further ado, below are my results. The percent of European ancestry surprised me the most. My brother's percentage is even higher at 31%, but I have a higher percent of Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean. He has more British & Irish, but I have more French & German. I was also surprised by the small percentage of Native American; I thought it would be a little higher. Growing up, I was told we had Native American on both sides of the family only a couple of generations ago. Not sure how my family got that information wrong. In fact, according to 23andMe, the British and Irish are more recent, just 3-5 generations back.

The results also said that I had Caribbean ancestors. Most people from the Caribbean have predominantly European or West African ancestry - a consequence of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It never crossed my mind that I may have Caribbean origins, so that part surprised me; I will have to dig into it more. So there you have it; it feels great and almost freeing to know more about my origins. Have you ever done a DNA test? If so, were you shocked by the results. Sharing is caring; drop me a line in the comments; I'd love to know!