As a child, I grew up going to the library and archives with my dad in search of genealogical history. I’ve huddled over old letters and stood at copiers capturing documentation about our roots. I enjoyed doing these activities as a kid, but the light bulb never really clicked as to what we were doing. I saw names and dates, but over time I’ve come to realize those names and dates represent lives that are the links to my past.

One of my goals in life is to learn how to add to my genealogical record as well as learn the stories of my ancestors. It feels overwhelming right now, but I have a great teacher (my dad) and so many resources available to me. I was thinking about taking a Great Course on the topic to help me get a foundation.

When I look at my AncestryDNA results, I can’t help but feel that it makes sense. The places you see on the map below are very special to me and they call to me. My first trip abroad to Europe was to Ireland and that is the trip that opened up my eyes to travel. On my honeymoon, we visited Scandinavia and we felt such a strong connection to nature, the people, and their way of life. A few years later, we visited Iceland and that was a trip that left us in awe. My next dream trip is to Scotland. I hope to make that Edwin’s first trip abroad.

When I think about my interests, so much of it stems from these cultures; music, history, nature, politics, way of viewing life, even TV shows. I loved The Last Kingdom and am currently obsessed with Outlander.

The purpose of this post is for me to realize this is important to me and to document that I want to work at this.