People often report a deeper sense of belonging from knowing one's place in the story of family and humanity. Genealogy gives us a new appreciation of history. To understand our ancestors, we must understand the times in which they lived. One may know that an ancestor moved from Richmond, Virginia, to Sonora, California, in 1849. Knowledge of the Gold Rush brings the cold information of dates and places to life.
History adds motivations, dreams, fears, to flesh out the skeletal data.
Tracing one's roots also brings us in touch with newly-found cousins from around the world. The number of our ancestors doubles each generation. With such a large number of ancestors, it is clear that many, many people are our very distant cousins. Sometimes distant cousins look very much alike. It is also fun to share your genealogical detective work with that 5th cousin you just found on the Internet.