Mira Bhasin

Dr. Bundy

Honors US History

24 May 2018

Genealogy Reflection Paper

I have been looking forward to doing a project using ancestry.com for my whole high

school career. After the AP, I was so excited to delve deep and use the internet to find out more

about my ancestors. But, the process turned out to be a lot different than I thought it would be.

As I started filling in information on my family tree on ancestry, I realized that the

website was working differently for me than it was for other people. I never got a single hint

when creating my tree, therefore I wasn’t able to expand beyond what I knew without the help of

my parents and other distant relatives. I was a bit disappointed by this, but I decided to use this

as an opportunity to talk to some of my family members that I haven’t talked to in a while. My

dad called his father’s sister and I was able to find out a lot about my dad’s side of the family

that I did not know before. I have a pretty extensive knowledge of my mother’s side due to our

presence in the United States. The majority of my mom’s side lives in the United States so it is

easier to see them and meet up more often. The family tree I used in my video was actually

created by my uncle and I for our family reunion in 2014. My father’s side, however, has a lot

less information due to the passing of my paternal grandfather and grandmother around the time

of my birth. My dad and his siblings never really got to delve deep into family history with his

parents due to their sudden deaths. I also don’t get to see my dad’s side that much because his
immediate family lives in India. I have some second and third cousins in the United States, but

the relatives I am closest to on my dad’s side live across the globe.

This project led me to calling people on my dad’s side, which allowed me to find out a lot

more about relatives beyond my great grandparents. I also really enjoyed getting to learn about

the roots of Sikhism in our family and how it was practiced through each generation. I had the

opportunity to talk to my maternal grandfather about his practice of Sikhism and why he decided

to cut his hair, which was a really great intimate experience we shared together. I am so grateful

that this project allowed me to make connections that I wouldn’t have before. Getting to

interview my dad gave me a lot more insight on his feelings about his parents and their passing. I

would definitely take more time to research in the future and I look forward to diving further into

my genealogy.
 Works Cited

Images:

“Hinduism Made Simple.” ​My Fantastic India​, 10 Aug. 2013,

myfantasticindia.com/hinduism-made-really-simple/.

“Sikhism.” ​Core Spirit​,

www.corespirit.com/category/myth-magick-spirituality/world-religions/sikhism/.

Information on Sikhism:

“Religion: Sikhism.” ​BBC​, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/.