This is my "Hello"

I am adopted.

What does that mean?

There are so many different views on adoption, and it means so many things to many people.

For the birth mother it can mean pain, loss, and sacrifice.

For the adoptive parent it can mean an addition to their family, another mouth to feed, another hand to hold, and another person to love. Finding the missing piece to their family.

For the adopted child... it means the world. And in my posts I hope to give some perspective from me, an adopted child.

I have always known that my parents were not genetically my parents. However, never once did I think that they were not "mine". They are my mom and dad, and I am their daughter, their child. I was chosen. My mom and dad did not have to be parents. They had that choice. And they chose to love me, to adopt me, to make me theirs. And this is something I am proud of. I am proud to be able to say that I am adopted. It's not something I hide, or that is a sensative subject. It is who I am. Without the loving sacrifice of my birth mother, I would not be where I am now, or who I am now. My birth mother made the hardest decision of her life, and thought of me before herself. It was not a selfish decision; however, one of the most selfless decisions that can ever be made. Never once in my life have I doubted whether or not she loved me. She showed her love for me the day she decided that she wanted me to have a life she did not feel she could provide. And I have never felt like I did not belong to my mom and dad. I am blessed to have not only a mom and dad to love and that love me, but I also have a mother to love and who loves me so much that she selflessly carried me for 9 months and gave me life.

As I give my perspective as an adopted child, I hope to share some of my experiences, thoughts, feelings, and emotions with you. I look forward to sharing how my birth mother, my parents, Lifeline, and God have given me a hope and a future.

Marie Collier
Administrative Assistant