Tuesday, June 6, 2017

What makes me what I am.

Twenty Three Chromosomes. $99 will get you the opportunity to see what your 23 chromosomes tell about your composition.  Subscribe and you can get a leaf to tell you about your ancestry. Anything to make a buck and give people a reason blame their behavior on their ancestry.
    I don't need any of these tools. I know I came from my mother's uterus. I, hopefully, believe it was my father's sperm that fertilized my egg. I know my mother was Armenian and my father was Polish. I know my paternal grandparents were from Austria. My maternal grandparents were from Armenia. None of them spoke English so I never did get the opportunity to ask them them about their pasts or form any sort of grandparent -grandchild bond. Just because I am Armenian doesn't mean I have an affection for camels or I eat only Armenian food. My Polish heritage doesn't mean that I have someone help me screw in a light bulb or eat only kielbasa.
  I don't think these have anything to do with who I am. I know I have a dual nationality but these are so far removed from my makeup.
  What makes me what I am are the things I have experienced in my life. The people I have met  and the events i have lived through have shaped my chromosomes into the person I am today. I don't have to point to character traits in nationalities to explain my behavior. I don't need old animosities towards other countries to explain my frustration and anger. I have lived my life not as a Pole or Armenian but as Don Krzan.
     So spend your money. Search to find why you are the person you are. Me, I'll just take a good at myself and try to see the person as I hope others see me.