Rebranding My Life
I may have mentioned this before. I am adopted.
So because I wanted to get to know myself better, try to find blood related family, and find any risks in my health, I decided to send in my DNA to 23andme.
All of my life I have been told I am Native American (1/2 Lakota, 1/2 Cherokee). Granted, the information came from my mother who wrote it all down once she heard it from the adoption agency in San Bernadino, CA. I looked Native American. I have the same body type and proportions as most Native Americans.
Come to find out, I am not nearly as much Native American as I believed.
It appears I am mostly European. Yep. This is a bit of a shake up. My whole life has been a lie! Well at least my heritage. But nonetheless, I am coming to terms with the fact I am now a white person (googles becoming a white person support group). Granted I do have some Native American, but not a majority.
Several things have happened since I received the report on Friday. First, I had to tell my kids.
Second, I had to figure out how this affects me personally. I was part of the minority of people that were forced to live on the worst land with the worst conditions for growing crops, hunting, or just living. Now... I am closer genetically to the oppressors. I realize that even though my DNA is British, my heart is Native American.
The third thing I had to come to grips with was my pride. I branded myself as Native American. I bought domains, user names, twitter handles, and everything was wrapped around my heritage. But is it fair for me to hold onto domains and such when I am not even a majority of that? My answer is "no". I have to accept who I am and make the best of me I can be. The bottom of the test results states it best... 100% John Burkholder.
Here I am. N8iv.net is being phased out. Burkholder.co is being brought online. I can only hope my wife likes this domain better when trying to give out her email address. Saying "N, the number 8, I V" is much like speaking binary to a typewriter. I liked it.
Welcome to my rebranded blog. Welcome to Burkholder.co.
My new twitter handle is @JohnHBurkholder
Facebook is now facebook.com/JohnHBurkholder
Other accounts will be updated as I come across them.
Forth thing I was reminded was... I have to check a different box now. That will be the hardest part I think of this whole endeavor.
On a good note, I have now connected with a 3rd cousin, although I am not sure how the family tree connects, but through DNA it has been very helpful. I also came to know that my DNA does not show high risks of brain cancer or colorectal cancer. This was actually one of the top concerns when I started this. The FDA said 23andme is not allowed to give the data about the genomes matching certain risk factors. But they do provide all of the raw data and you can look up the cancer data yourself.
As I weave through the rebranding process, I will try to keep this blog updated with any big changes to me personally, emotionally, and professionally.
Regards,
John H. Burkholder
So because I wanted to get to know myself better, try to find blood related family, and find any risks in my health, I decided to send in my DNA to 23andme.
All of my life I have been told I am Native American (1/2 Lakota, 1/2 Cherokee). Granted, the information came from my mother who wrote it all down once she heard it from the adoption agency in San Bernadino, CA. I looked Native American. I have the same body type and proportions as most Native Americans.
Come to find out, I am not nearly as much Native American as I believed.
It appears I am mostly European. Yep. This is a bit of a shake up. My whole life has been a lie! Well at least my heritage. But nonetheless, I am coming to terms with the fact I am now a white person (googles becoming a white person support group). Granted I do have some Native American, but not a majority.
Several things have happened since I received the report on Friday. First, I had to tell my kids.
Second, I had to figure out how this affects me personally. I was part of the minority of people that were forced to live on the worst land with the worst conditions for growing crops, hunting, or just living. Now... I am closer genetically to the oppressors. I realize that even though my DNA is British, my heart is Native American.
The third thing I had to come to grips with was my pride. I branded myself as Native American. I bought domains, user names, twitter handles, and everything was wrapped around my heritage. But is it fair for me to hold onto domains and such when I am not even a majority of that? My answer is "no". I have to accept who I am and make the best of me I can be. The bottom of the test results states it best... 100% John Burkholder.
Here I am. N8iv.net is being phased out. Burkholder.co is being brought online. I can only hope my wife likes this domain better when trying to give out her email address. Saying "N, the number 8, I V" is much like speaking binary to a typewriter. I liked it.
Welcome to my rebranded blog. Welcome to Burkholder.co.
My new twitter handle is @JohnHBurkholder
Facebook is now facebook.com/JohnHBurkholder
Other accounts will be updated as I come across them.
Forth thing I was reminded was... I have to check a different box now. That will be the hardest part I think of this whole endeavor.
On a good note, I have now connected with a 3rd cousin, although I am not sure how the family tree connects, but through DNA it has been very helpful. I also came to know that my DNA does not show high risks of brain cancer or colorectal cancer. This was actually one of the top concerns when I started this. The FDA said 23andme is not allowed to give the data about the genomes matching certain risk factors. But they do provide all of the raw data and you can look up the cancer data yourself.
As I weave through the rebranding process, I will try to keep this blog updated with any big changes to me personally, emotionally, and professionally.
Regards,
John H. Burkholder
Comments