How it Feels to Be Adopted Me I used “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston as my mentor text for this essay. I have always known that I was adopted. There was never one day when I realized that my parents were not biologically related to me. Being adopted has always been a part of me, ever since early childhood. Almost every year, in my elementary school classes, I had to create a project in which I had to describe myself. Sometimes I would have to use objects or pictures, at other times I would have to write an essay or poem. Every single time I completed a variation of that assignment, I included the same three facts about myself: I like to dance, I enjoy going to the beach, and I am adopted. I remember being so proud to …show more content…
Suddenly, I wasn’t the girl everyone already knew who liked to dance, enjoyed going to the beach, and was adopted. I became the “new girl.” No one knew that my parents were white. They only knew that I was Asian. I soon began to question my assumption that being adopted was so great. People at Stafford saw me differently. They made assumptions about me. I knew in my heart that something was changing, but it took me a while to understand what it was. But I am not asking for sympathy. I do not mind being adopted. I do not believe that I was put at any disadvantage because of it. On the contrary, I view my adoption as an event that greatly benefitted my life. So no, I do not curse my situation – I am too busy doing my homework. I view my adoption as something that has given me a loving family and amazing opportunities. I didn’t choose to be adopted, but others don’t choose to be born into their family. I just happened to get lucky. However, some people view my adoption with sympathy. They see me as the result my parents’ infertility. Since my parents couldn’t have a kid of their own, they decided to do the next best thing. Thus, my adoption was Plan B. How ironic? These different views on my adoption result in varied reactions from others, which always make for interesting
Lynch is a writer and teacher in Northern New Mexico. In the following essay, she examines ways that the text of The Souls of Black Folk embodies Du Bois' experience of duality as well as his "people's."
...mily”, unintentionally depicts a perfectly formed family leaving the reader to cope with numerous psychological affects that in reality, astoundingly touch each member of the adoption triad. For the adoptee, essential innate needs may go unnoticed, a lack of trust may develop, and mixed emotions regarding the birth and adoptive families may fester throughout the years. Accordingly, various unintentionally disheartening statements of loved ones often trigger these negative emotions. For some adoptees, the adoption process may include a search for the biological family. Subsequently, many risks and rewards propose a challenge to the adoptee. The ultimate challenge, however, remains in successfully weaving nature and nurture concurrently as well as unifying relationships between the adoptive family, birth family, and the adoptee into a healthy, beautiful braid.
In “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” Hurston breaks from the tradition of her time by rejecting the idea that the African American people should be ashamed or saddened by the color of their skin. She tells other African Americans that they should embrace their color and be proud of who they are. She writes, “[A socialite]…has nothing on me. The cosmic Zora emerges,” and “I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads” (942-943). Whether she feels “colored” or not, she knows she is beautiful and of value. But Hurston writes about a time when she did not always know that she was considered colored.
Psychologists conducted a study of a four year old adopted child named Ella to see how she responded and reacted to people. While analyzing her playing with dolls, she said to one of the adults “Can I live with you? I have no home. I have no family. I have to steal food or starve to death.”(Kaufman, Adele) This article clearly shows that because of her birth parent(s) giving her up, it has affected the way she portrays family. The relationship between a child and parent is crucial in the development process. While the child is young, they might not be aware of the fact they are adopted. As they grow up this will become obvious. If the birth parents are involved in their life it will prevent this confusion when they are old enough to understand their
Every day children are born to parent’s that give them up for adoption for one reason or another. This reason usually plays an important role in determining whether the biological parent(s) want their identities known by the child. Although the reason may be fundamental to the parents in shaping whether they choose yes or no, its value should not take precedence over the fact that adopted children have the right to know the identities of their birth parents.
There are common ordeals and situations that can trouble a family emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Adoption is one situation a family must encounter when a child is born without a proper system of support to sustain life after birth. The causes for a family to make a heartfelt decision to place a child for adoption can have dramatic effects on the birth parents, adoptive parents, and child (Adoptee), even if the decision is meant for the best.
What is Adoption? It can be a beautiful thing, seeing as someone can find it in their heart to take in a child/children who they dont even know and commit to taking care of them until they can take care of themselves. Adoption can also be quite frightening. A child may feel abandoned, left out, unloved, and many other feelings.Although your relationship with the birthparents may start out great, sometimes problems develop later on. Keep in mind that relationships with family members (including one's own parents) are sometimes strained, so it shouldn't be surprising if problems occasionally surface with an open adoption. Even very strong proponents of open
"I am a 31 yr. old adoptee, I was adopted at birth it was prearranged prior to my birth, my sister who is 3 yrs younger also a prearranged adoption at birth...actually we were picked up by our adopted parents around six to nine weeks but my understanding is I was never with my birth mother I was either in the hospital or at the agency until they came to get us" ("Open Adoption").
Although people may think of it this way, it is far from true. Adoption has become fairly popular in recent years. “Since the mid-1990s, the number of international adoptions each year has nearly doubled, from 22,200 in 1995 to just under 40,000 in 2006” (Graff). This sudden popularity has caused people to doubt, speculate, and criticize international adoption. People have a skewed perception of it, and they are not willing alter their beliefs. The parents that wish to adopt a child have gone through long, tedious processes to prove they are fit parents. They anxiously await their son or daughter with no means of harming the them. Adoption is a way for parents who cannot have children, for whatever reason, be able to go through the life-changing experience of raising one. The parents have the child’s best interest in mind. Parents that adopt a child have the exact same intentions as parents that give birth to a child themselves. Adoption was created as a way for children with no parents to have a chance for a happy upbringing and a promising future. It was in no way created as this cruel act that society has twisted it
Although I was young, I remember the day It happened. I was congratulated and welcomed by a bunch of unfamiliar faces, I was trying to get to know. On my adoption day, I was young, but old enough to know what was happening and somewhat my circumstance. I was a four year-old girl who knew I got taken from my parents, and other family I lived with in the past. Although I wasn't distraught because I was young and these new people were so nice, I still felt the need to stick by the side of my biological brother and sister who too, were getting adopted.
When I was adopted and brought back to the United States with my new parents, I was immediately labeled as having one of the worst cases of rickets, my doctor had ever seen and I also struggled with a serious case of pneumonia. I remember check ups and knowing I was not well, but being loved and cared for by my adoptive parents made all the difference and impacted me tremendously and made me feel secure and wanted for the first time in my life.
Many perceptions are made about adopted children,and people begin to question. Where does the adopted child receive their personalities and who is responsible for the children’s actions? Another thing that may come to one’s mind is at which age will adoption have the greatest impact and effect on a child? Thirdly, people are curious about learning if the majority of adopted children would like to meet their birth parents?
I grew up the youngest in a family of five. My mother and father divorced when I was a few months old. My mother struggled to take care of five young children on her own. Because her parents died when she was a little girl, she never considered giving us up for adoption or to relatives. My natural father never kept in touch with us. He never helped my mother care for us and so I never knew him and have no recollection of him.
Throughout my childhood, I cannot remember ever being told that I was adopted. Instead, I grew up in a way I would call normal—the same as my two non-adopted brothers. That is until other people began to let me know that I was unique. They made comments about how most families look the same whereas I am Asian and my family is Caucasian. Others assumed I grew up in China and started
even though they adopted me which at the time I did not know I was adopted I wasn’t worried