Most people recognize me with my glasses on. By the way, I hate wearing glasses but it is
a necessary evil. I tried contacts but
only ever got them into my eyes for ½ hour.
After that I struggled with trying to fit them into my flinching eyelids
and was never quite sure if I had the lenses backwards or not. I first started wearing glasses when I was
seven years old; I was able to get away without wearing them all the time until
I hit my later years, thus gradually, I am sure, my descendants will begin to
notice me in pictures morphing into the person I am today; donning a pair of
specks.
Whenever I get my hair done I figure it is time to
take a picture of myself; I hate the word selfie as it sounds so narcissistic. I am not an avid updater of my picture on Facebook
either, but once in a while I think it is time for a change and so I upload the
latest hairstyle and go with it. This
time while trying to take a picture of myself, that I felt reflected who I am
from the inside out, I decided that none of the pictures with my glasses on
would due; I even tried using my computer glasses and it still was not working
for me. Thus, on a whim I decided to
take a few pics with my glasses off. I
am usually not satisfied with that choice but when I took the picture shown
above there was something more to it then just an updated photo of myself.
With this picture I slowly discovered that I could see
my ancestors within my features. My one
side seemed to reflect my maternal grandmother’s side of the family; I could
see my cousin’s eye. It was very
enlightening, as I had never noticed this before; I always saw my paternal side
on that side of my face. I am mesmerized
by the other side of my face as I can see my maternal grandfather but also my
paternal grandparents. My paternal
grandfather had told me that I looked like his little sister, who died of
diphtheria when she was 11 years old and later he told me that he thought I
looked like his cousin Joyce from England, whom I had met once when I was a
teenager. I could not see the
resemblance however my grandfather knew her when she was my age. If I look hard enough now into this picture I
believe I can see what he was talking about.
After having my DNA done by Ancesty.ca it confirmed what I had already
known; that I was who I though I was. No,
I was not adopted as I questioned as a kid, “How can you prove I was not
adopted?”, I asked my parents. They just
chuckled with a knowing eye.
I like this picture as it seems to be a piece of
artwork. My expression is pleasant, but
behind my eyes are a person in deep thought.
I don’t need to share what those thoughts were but suffice it to say I
had quite a lot on my mind that day and did not need to show my emotions on my
sleeve for all to see. Perhaps a few of
my ancestors had felt the same as I at one time or another in their lifetime; I
really am a deep thinker.
The accidental composition of this picture is really
fascinating too. The chair in the
backyard was not staged, it was just sitting there while I was fooling around
with the camera on my computer. Too me
it seems as if that chair was meant to be there. I can picture in my minds eye each of my
ancestors taking turns sitting there watching me not only search for them in
the records on the Internet, but also seeking them deep within myself using that
picture. Sure, I have seen my ancestors
in pictures of myself before, but there is something romantically haunting
about this picture that makes a statement; more then a thousand words
even.
Happy Hunting
Tammy Tipler-Priolo BASc, PLCGS
The Ancestor Investigator
