I Believe in Adoption

I Believe in Adoption

“Once there were two women who never knew each other. One you do not remember, the other you call mother….” This quote from an anonymous poem about adoption is very meaningful to me. As I grew up the poem remained on my bedroom wall and many times has given me inspiration. My name is Lexi and I was born in Bogota, Colombia. When I was about three months old my parents adopted me and brought me to the United States. That was in 1995.

In the 1990s, over 220,000 children were placed for adoption in the United States. Some of these children were domestically born, some were foreign born, some were young, and some were older.

For all these children, including me, life is a lot different than it would have been without adoption. It changes children’s lives forever.

Kids are put up for adoption for many different reasons. I was put up for adoption as a baby because my biological mother wanted me to have a better life and education than I would have received in Bogota. Other times a child’s family may not have the time, money, or ability to take care of a child. Adoptive parents provide the love, care, and stability that these children need. As the poem says, one mother gives you life and the other lets you experience that life. I know my biological mother loved me because she was willing to place me for adoption so that my adoptive mother and father could have the opportunity to love me and care for me.

Older children who are put up for adoptions might have a more difficult time than young children; they often have to move from family to family trying to find someone who will adopt them. All these children have something in common; they need a family. People should consider adopting older children as they also need love, stability, and a permanent home.

There are many people who ask whether heredity or environment make you who you are. I believe it is a combination of both. My heredity gives me my personality and my appearance, but my environment shapes my thoughts, actions, and character. Adoption didn’t change the fact that I am Colombian; instead it gave me a chance to experience things that I would otherwise not have been able to experience. The poem on my wall ends by asking the question, “Heredity or Environment which am I a product of?” It answers with, “Neither my darling. Neither. Just two different kinds of love.”

A question that often bubbles inside my mind is what can I do to help raise adoption awareness? One way, is to talk to people about my adoption and answer any questions they may have. Some people have a hard time talking about adoption, but if people know it is a very positive way to form a family, more people might consider it as an option. This I believe.