What Family Is To Me
Since birth, I have grown up with a different concept of family than
most people do. Instead of being born into my biological family, I was adopted
into my given family. I have known I was adopted, for as long as I can remember
because my parents made sure to tell me so, at the earliest age that I could
understand. By adopting me and my sister into the family, my parents showed
that family means love, respect and sacrifice. My adoption gave me a family to
belong to and be loved by.
Love is the first part in any family. I can be defined in more ways
than one. Family love is the strongest type because it is unconditional. This
unconditional love means that no matter what happens my family will still love
me. They have shown this love for twenty years now. And after all the things I
have done wrong, or done badly, my family still shows this unconditional love to
me and to each other.
The second part in a family is respect and trust. Trust is something
that can take years to build, but can be broken very easily. By breaking trust
with a family member one is also breaking respect of the family. The two ideas
go hand in hand. My parents respected me enough to tell me that I was adopted,
instead of lying to me and having me find out later in life that I wasn't their
biological son. This respect that my parents gave me, in turn gave me their
trust. And I gave them the respect and trust that was given to me.
Without sacrifice, a family cannot be. The sacrifices that family
members make for each other show the willingness to be an unselfish part of a
family. Sacrifices also display the love, respect and trust in a family. I
know that even though some of the time it may not seem that my parents would
sacrifice anything for me, I realize that they would do anything for and
everything for me and that I would do the same for them.
...he way love is performed and the price a family member might have to pay for the sake of the integrity of one’s family, at the end of the day, family will always be the people who loves us the most.
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
Beckett, Celia, Jenny Castle, Christine Sonuga-Barke, Colvert Edmund, and Stevens Jana. "The experience of adoption: a study of intercountry and domestic adoption from the child's point of view. Adoption and Fostering.
When I was a little kid I thought of my parents as the most amazing people in the world, to me they c...
...edical history and I was able to have a relationship with my family and not have the added stress of not knowing where I come from. I did not experience any disadvantages from being adopted however, when I looked at the stages one goes through as they get older I can apply them to my life. I feel I may have skipped some stages , but I did question why my mother could not get off the drugs to be able to take care of me and my siblings, however I know it’s not personal because she did not raise any of my siblings. Adoption is something that one is fortune to be loved and to be picked by a family, however I think it is important to be aware of the physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of adopting someone. Overall, I know that I will encounter and adopted student and to be able to have a teacher who was adopted will only help me build a relationship with that child.
Samuels, E. (2001). The Strange History of Adult Adoptee Access to Original Birth Records. Adoption Quarterly, 5(2), 63-74.
Societal attitudes toward adoption have made great advances since the 1900s, both in the understanding of the complexities of adoption and the acceptance of adoption as a positive path for children.
Adoption has been proven to be a motivator for children countless times. Adoption has miniscule, if any, health impacts on children. A study from Bethany Christian Services shows that health is not an issue. “Most children who are adopted lead healthy, normal lives” (Bethany Christian Services 1). The importance in this statement is the fact that adoption does not affect the health of the adopted child, at least majority of the time. Adoptees make up two percent of the world’s population. Out of that two percent, “5 percent of children are receiving outpatient mental health services, 10 to 15 percent of children are in residential treatment, and 6 to 9 percent of children who have learning disorders in the United States” (Bethany Christian Services 1). Furthermore, adoption shows signs of low self-esteem in the most rarity of cases. The Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project conducted studies to display the correlation in openness of adoption. “In the first wave of research when the children were between the ages of 4 and 12 with two thirds between ages 5.5 and 8.5 years the researchers have found there was no relationship found between adoption openness and self-esteem, either positively or negatively. Taking this new found intelligence in consideration, it can be concluded that overall, adoption hinders the health of children only in minority cases, and the...
parents that among others things taught me to be true to my feelings and to
To begin, what led up to my adoption. This was very difficult part of my life, which began when my mom and my dad split up. They broke up when I was very little and my mom met a guy that I really did not like. He was a major alcoholic and always beat my mom, brother and I. There have been times that we tried to get away but he would seem to always find us. This was when finally my brother and I ran away and which caused us to
If I were an adoptee, I would search for my mother. I look at my parents, and I can see where I get my intellect, humor, suspicious nature, impatience, height, etc. Even if she had passed away, I would just be grateful to gain some closure because I believe parents unconsciously/consciously shape the identity of the child. I am sure I would have been angry that I am adopted and that I was likely unwanted, but those thoughts would not deter
The best things in life come free to us. Our parents are one of the most important and fundamental in our life. However, people generally wonder, do adopted children feel the same way we do? Adoption is not easy, it's full of risks, simply because no one is aware of the future, the person adopting a child will never know how the child will react once he's aware he's adopted. Will they grow to love them, hate them, admire them or fear them? All of these unanswerable questions makes any person think twice before having the courage to adopt. Adoption never fails to put down any parents' feelings, whether they were homeless, abandoned, poor or runaway children and also families who don't have the option of being biological parents, the pleasure it gives to all of those people exceeds all of it's expected problems. However; adoption has some positive sides. It's one of life's fair treaties. It gives hope and integrity to the families who weren't fortunate to conceive; moreover, it changes the life of the child forever mostly positively. That's why many people support adoption worldwide.
The idea of family is different from person to person. Regardless of the differences, everyone’s family is unique and special in their own way. No one can judge or discriminate against people for their meaning and interpretation of what a family looks like. For example, family may have two parents; one parent; or no parents (since these are brief phrases, semi-colons shouldn't be used). The variation and differences between families makes culture and society so diverse. Family does not have limitations or boundaries (true). As long as the definition of family contains the qualities of unconditional love, and endless support, help, and guidance; all different families (awk) will be able to succeed and achieve a greater feeling of happiness and a sense of belonging and acceptance.
because it gives me security and comfort. I know that the decisions that I make
When most people think of love they mentally picture Cinderella and her Prince Charming happily dancing off into the sunset. They think of Noah reading his documented love story to dementia riddled Allie in attempt to make her remember him. They picture Michelle Tanner and Uncle Jesse solving the world’s problems with nothing but a ‘you got it, Dude’. People associate love with happiness, but love is also pain. Picture Ronnie as she clings to her cancer-stricken father who was once her closest friend. Love can bring people together, but it can also tear them apart. Love is defined as “strong affection for another” but love is so much more (Love 1). Love cannot be simply defined as affection because it does not