Finding Myself Through My DNA: A Journey of Self-Discovery With iGENEA (
Family name Lennon
Discovering one's own heritage with iGENEA's DNA test can lead to a complex mix of emotions and self-realizations. Unfolding a colourful lineage, this experience helped redefine what it means to be a Lennon and unfolded the intricate threads binding one to a vast ancestral history.
Taking a DNA test with iGENEA has been an intriguing and enlightening journey. When I first received the DNA kit, I felt a mix of excitement and a bit of trepidation. As I swabbed the inside of my cheek, I couldn't help but wonder: "What hidden secrets will my DNA reveal?"
After a few weeks of waiting, the results finally arrived – a glorious array of abstract colors sprawled across my computer screen. Until that moment, I thought I knew who I was: Half Irish, half English, from a long line of Lennons on one side and Browns on the other. But as I started going through my results, I was astounded by how complex and incredibly nuanced my heritage was. Instead of being half Irish, the test illuminated a more extensive Celtic ancestry which shifted my self-perception.
The understanding I had of my family history evolved from vague foggy notions, based on handed down stories, to a clear, scientific breakdown of my ancestors' journeys. My surname, Lennon, once simply a name I associated with family and heritage, now served as a link to a historical lineage of Celtic scribes, musicians, and poets dating back hundreds of years.
A previously unknown Scottish lineage also surfaced on my father's side. Cool, I thought. But more than that, it was the idea of a macrocosmic connection that struck me. That my DNA, my life, shared an inexplicable bond with people from a land I'd never been to, and yet was connected with at such a fundamental level.
The experience also unveiled emotions I had not anticipated. There was a sense of sadness, of realizing that I was just one ending point of an infinite line of ancestry that I understood so little about. But more than sadness, it was realization. The Lennon’s have helped shape the history of regions, they were part of events hundreds of years ago, and I am part of them.
iGENEA didn’t just give me an overview of my genetic makeup; it offered a meaningful exploration into my own identity. It redefined my relationship with my surname, turned my understanding of my family upside down, and stoked an interest in genealogy I never knew I had.
N. Lennon