Living in a tiny, predominantly white town in the whitest state in the country and being one of five ethnically diverse students in the whole PreK-12 school is not easy. Nor is it always enjoyable.
People say I am just like my father because I act like him. Both of us like to get the last word in, no matter what, and our senses of humor are quite similar. I enjoy making puns and “Dad jokes” just as much. My brother and I both have our mother’s musicality and our father’s athleticism. You would think that my family is biologically related if you could not see what we looked like.
One of my earliest memories of realizing I was “different” was when I was in kindergarten. Some people asked questions. Others said nothing at all and just stared. …show more content…
It is confusing trying to go back and figure out “why me.” On the other hand, “lucky me.” Being adopted is nothing to be ashamed of. I am truly grateful for how my life has turned out thus far. With all the complicated relationships and different feelings I have had about my adoption over the years, I still would not have it any other way. I have learned that love and openness allow me to process adoption in an authentic way, and have become qualities that I cherish in relationships outside of family. I feel love and gratitude to my parents for loving me so deeply, for being supportive and involved in my life, and for understanding my search for myself as an adopted young woman.
Now I am eighteen, the legal age to attempt to locate my birth mother. My biological father, I may never know. I love my older brother, who was also adopted from South Korea, but I yearn to know if I have blood related family somewhere.
Despite being left with emotional insecurities, pushing people away out of fear of loss, and curiosity about my birth parents, my life is not a sob story. I do not want sympathy. I want to be treated with the same respect as everyone. I yearn to experience a diverse population and to regain a sense of cultural Korean identity. Above all, I aspire to be content with myself. Being adopted is not central to my life, and neither are the ethnophaulisms thrown my way.
I am unique. I am loved. I am
People say I am just like my father because I act like him. Both of us like to get the last word in, no matter what, and our senses of humor are quite similar. I enjoy making puns and “Dad jokes” just as much. My brother and I both have our mother’s musicality and our father’s athleticism. You would think that my family is biologically related if you could not see what we looked like.
One of my earliest memories of realizing I was “different” was when I was in kindergarten. Some people asked questions. Others said nothing at all and just stared. …show more content…
It is confusing trying to go back and figure out “why me.” On the other hand, “lucky me.” Being adopted is nothing to be ashamed of. I am truly grateful for how my life has turned out thus far. With all the complicated relationships and different feelings I have had about my adoption over the years, I still would not have it any other way. I have learned that love and openness allow me to process adoption in an authentic way, and have become qualities that I cherish in relationships outside of family. I feel love and gratitude to my parents for loving me so deeply, for being supportive and involved in my life, and for understanding my search for myself as an adopted young woman.
Now I am eighteen, the legal age to attempt to locate my birth mother. My biological father, I may never know. I love my older brother, who was also adopted from South Korea, but I yearn to know if I have blood related family somewhere.
Despite being left with emotional insecurities, pushing people away out of fear of loss, and curiosity about my birth parents, my life is not a sob story. I do not want sympathy. I want to be treated with the same respect as everyone. I yearn to experience a diverse population and to regain a sense of cultural Korean identity. Above all, I aspire to be content with myself. Being adopted is not central to my life, and neither are the ethnophaulisms thrown my way.
I am unique. I am loved. I am