Personal Narrative Essay On Gotcha Day

“We should start to celebrate your Gotcha Day,“ my mother said cheerfully.

I replied with a confused look and muttered under my breath, “What does that even mean”? Surprised, she said, “It's when our family celebrates the day you joined our family. Jaycee, Nate, and you completed our family.”

I was only 2 when I was removed from my biological family, and put into the foster care system. I was born with the name Jayda Ross First In Trouble. After being adopted at age 6, my name was officially changed to Jayda Ariana Knutson.

At the age of two, it really wasn't my choice to be taken away from my biological family. It wasn't my biological mom’s either. It was child services choice. The living conditions weren't the best and my father was never home. At the time I lived with

They would both say, “You aren't my real sister” or “Mom isn't your mom, she's my mom” .

I still didn't understand what adoption was. But I definitely knew we shared a mom. Upset and mad I would fire back with “I hate you” or “Mom likes me more” just to make them even more mad.

Being taken away was a fear I had growing up. I don't worry about it anymore, because I know I have a permanent family. My whole family, including my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins treat Jaycee, Nate and me like family. They don't care that we don't look like them, or that we don't have the same blood or genes. They love us, and we love them. But I would never give up the family I have right now. My family is still planning on celebrating my Gotcha Day. I can't even begin to imagine a better family to celebrate with.

I sometimes have nights where I stay up for hours thinking about how my life would have been like if I was never adopted. I would like to meet my biological family someday. I still care about them, and I don't think anything will change that.

I learned an important life lesson over the years of my adoption process. Biological or adopted, family is