DNA Test for an Adoptee

 
 

Vocabulary

wild	follow	swear (2)
tired	get on	biological parents
team	curious	raise/rose/risen (2)
entire	related	take me in
swab	adopt (2)	honest (2)
stuff	care (2)	don’t care
kit	surprise	debatable
result	proper	extraordinary
boring	confirm	make sense
cheek	sense (3)	disappointing
bit (2)	blood (2)	whatsoever
guess

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

Hey guys. So I’m back from Indonesia. It was — if you’ve been following my Instagram stories you know it was a wild eleven days.

My first proper day back that I haven’t been super tired, and I’m just getting on with work.

And then I remembered that in my inbox is something really special.

So about six weeks ago, the team over at MyHeritage sent me over an email asking me if I wanted a free DNA kit to test my DNA, see where I come from, and things like that.

And I was like “Oh my gosh yes!”

Now the reason I was like “Oh my gosh, yes!” is because I’ve always been a little bit curious about where I’m from.

So let me quickly explain, because no matter how long you’ve been around on this channel, you may not know what I’m about to tell you:

I was not raised by my biological parents. At two weeks old, my grandparents took me in . . . and I’ve called them Mom and Dad my entire life, because they are my Mom and Dad.

And my mom, my maternal grandmother, is the only one out of the two who’s actually related to me by blood.

But she was adopted, and she has no idea who her parents were either.

So, safe to say, let’s just put it out there — these might really surprise me.

And to be honest, I’m doing it more for my mom who was also adopted. Because I don’t really care about that, but I think I might find some interesting stuff for her.

So yes, they sent me the kit.

I just have to swab my cheeks and send it back to them, all the way to Houston, Texas.

And I got an email two or three weeks after they received it saying your results are ready.

And I swear, I have not looked at these results. I don’t know what they’re going to say.

I’m guessing I’m probably a super boring, White European girl.

Let’s see if we can confirm that fun fact.

Okay. Well, that’s a lot. That’s a lot!

So, I’m 53% British. 53% English should I say. And I’m 26.7% Scandinavian — which makes sense because of the Vikings.

I’m 0% from Africa. That’s debatable.

I’m 0% Asian? That’s really disappointing.

I was hoping to be somewhat Asian, somewhat African. I wanted to be a little bit of everything, to be honest.

Okay, that’s quite a lot. So 18% Iberian, which is like Spain and Portugal.

Well there we have it. We have confirmed what we all thought.

That I’m not interesting, whatsoever. It’s even more cool to know, especially being a traveler.

I’ve been brought up knowing blood means absolutely nothing, when it comes to family. Nothing. Zero.

It’s about who raises you. That’s what makes your family. It’s the people who love you, who care for you, raise you, who are there for you, through thick and thin.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, it’s always really interesting though for someone who doesn’t know about their past, doesn’t know their family tree.

This is probably the closest I’ll get to know that I’m nothing extraordinary.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Questions

1. She probably loves to travel. True or false?

2. Did she go to a laboratory to have her DNA tested?

3. “And my mom, my maternal grandmother, is the only one out of the two who’s actually related to me by blood.” What can you say about her parents?

4. Can her mom tell her about her side of the family?

5. The DNA testing company mailed (posted) her results to her. Is this right or wrong?

6. Does she think she is mixed or mixed-race? What were her DNA test results?

7. What does she say about family relations?

 
 

A. I have taken a DNA test. Yes or no? Do you know anyone who has taken a DNA test?

B. Would you and your friends like to take one? What kind of results do you think it would show?

C. What might the DNA testing companies think about all these people buying their kits, taking the test and uploading their results on YouTube?

D. DNA testing is (going to be) a huge, profitable industry. What do you think?

E. Do you agree with the woman’s idea about family relations?

F. What will happen in the future?