I got my ancestry results in today and they were so healing!!

Congratulations on getting the answers you needed.

As a parent of adoptive children, I completely get your happiness! On a more practical note - I don’t know which test you took, but if you can extract the raw data, you can also upload that into some other ancestry websites, often for reduced prices. Not sure if your purpose would also be to find relatives, but this would increase that chance. Congrats on gaining more puzzle pieces about yourself!

That is so cool. Have you started to learn more about the culture and traditions of your new country? If I was in your situation I'd start learning how to cook the food of your ancestors. I've always known where my grandparents came from even though I never knew them. When I was in my late 20's and 30's, I spent a lot of time learning how to cook the food from their culture. It was lots of fun and I found that I really enjoyed many of the flavors.

I was going to suggest trying learning the language of your origin country, but then I read in the comments that it's Finland, one of the hardest languages of Europe (and I learned German as a Romanian, which was also really hard) I think everyone in Europe loves Finland, personally I love their accent no matter what other language they speak, really good music and bet their food is great too (gotta try that)

I’m an adoptee too and getting an ancestry kit was very healing for me as well. I see you, friend! 

Love this for you!

That must be a great feeling! Congratulations! ✨🎈

That's wild, it's like you found your own plot twist in a soap opera!

Yay! Finnish people are the best! (I am biased because half Finnish ancestry)

That’s actually really beautiful to read. I can’t imagine how confusing it must’ve felt growing up, but it’s so cool that everything finally clicked for you. Finding out your roots and feeling proud of yourself like that is huge. I’m really happy for you, you deserve that peace fr. ✨️

i did one of these and found out my great great uncle invented that thing you put on the end of shoelaces. it was okay.

If you're into music, check out Finnish music - metal, folk & choral are particularly strong in Finland (I absolutely adore it). Congratulations on finding a clearer path to your origins!

That is exciting and I'm genuinely happy for you!!

Finding out where you actually belong is a top tier experience. Genuinely happy for you.

Really happy for you OP!

That is such an awesome thing! I'm glad that you are finding yourself. 💜

I have a question. Is it wrong to gift ancestry to a friend who is adopted?

This sounds like a wonderful experience! I’m so glad that it’s given you some pieces of your past and also opened up new avenues of adventure for you. Congrats!

That's such a meaningful discovery! It must feel validating to finally have some answers about why you might have felt that disconnect growing up. Identity can be such a complex thing for adoptees, and having that piece of the puzzle click into place sounds really powerful. Are you thinking about exploring more about the culture you're actually connected to now?

By the way, I haven’t forgotten, I have both my Pannukakku and Pulla recipes and just need to find a way to post them…

Happy for you!!!

e's a bigger story here - like did you find something you were looking for or get answers to something? Either way, love that for you, those moments of clarity about where you come from can hit different.

Honestly, I didn’t expect so many people to relate to this.

Look up St Urho’s day! It’s fun. We used to celebrate it at work, it’s the day before St Patrick’s day.

I have a friend who grew up in a super white community, not knowing who her dad was other than what her mother told her, which was that he was American with Italian ancestry. Well she lied. He wasn't Italian at all, he was Puerto Rican. My friend didn't learn this until adulthood by which time she felt like she had lost her mind because it was the first time it had even OCCURRED to her she wasn't Italian. However, she does not look Italian at all. If you saw her, you would most likely pin her as Latinx. Yet, she grew up surrounded by white people and white half-siblings and knew her appearance was different but never thought about race. She said the first time she looked in the mirror after that moment, she just screamed DUHHHHH 😂 She said the realization was like watching a dog walk around on its hind legs. She also had experienced some bullying growing up so immersed in whiteness, that she hadn't understood all the way at the time. Neither had the other kids, it seemed like, who had all also followed along on this Italian thread. Like a community-wide suspension of disbelief. But it things about her hair texture, fuller lips, etc. It put a lot of things into context for her, including the concept of race itself and how it operates in power systems.