Katie's Story
By Katie L
I Believe...
I believe that adoption can form a family. A nervous mother and an excited father have just received a phone call exclaiming the news that a new baby girl has come into their lives. After many frustrating and impatient years, hope has finally enlightened the new parents as their prayers are answered. They will finally become one precious family. I am their answered prayer, their gift from God. I am adopted.
Adoption has had a huge impact on my life. Growing up adopted, I have experienced several thrills and downfalls. Knowing I have an amazing family has really helped my understanding of adoption. My whole life I have grown up reading books about adoption, and listening to stories from other adopted kids who are now grown and have families of their own. I have also had the privilege to return to my homeland and enjoy the culture where I lived for a short few months of my life.
My parents and I have a special bond most kids do not have and we have discussions most families do not have. "It’s my birthday today, do you think my biological mother remembers?" Or on the other hand, "Do you think my biological father thinks about me?" Even though we do not know the answers to these questions, my parents always tell me what I want to hear, "Of course they remember." In a way it brings us closer knowing they care and understand what I am thinking about. Every year on the anniversary of the day I came to the United States, my family watches my arrival tape. This tape shows me being carried off the plane and being placed in my mother’s arms for the very first time. This is a time of celebration and remembering the overwhelming feeling that was present in the airport. Seventeen years ago was the birth of a new family, a recurring dream that finally came true.
Sometimes I don’t remember that I am Korean or that I am adopted. I don’t feel different from other kids just because they know their biological parents. My parents are my parents and we are a family. When I was younger, children in my elementary school would ask, "Are those your real parents?" and I would always answer, "Yes they are, they are my real parents." Without my parents where would I be? If they did not have my brother and me, where would my parents be? Adoption has brought us together. Adoption is permanent. Adoption is love.