Exploring my Own Thoughts

“Straddling two families, adoptees live this crazy reality of having been let go of by one family and taken in by another”

Tara Vanderwoude

Throughout the research and information I have gathered while doing this assignment, I have developed some ideas of my own. I came across this quote while gathering information and I thought it suggested some interesting ideas. While adoption is important and a wonderful thing, it can sometimes be presented without the full picture. As this quote suggests, even though adoptees gain a family they were also left by a family. Not knowing your biological relatives or family history, biological or otherwise, is challenging for adoptees. Adoption can be seen as this heroic act by the parents, however, it can sometimes leave the adoptees in a confusing position. As discussed in the Ted Talk by Sara Jones, she was thankful for her adoptive parents, although there was still a part of her that felt disconnected by not knowing aspects of herself related to her birth family and culture. I think these aspects have an affect on an individual developing their racial identity and as mentioned in the Ted Talk, it is important to provide children with a safe space to share their feelings related to adoption and to validate these feelings. Additionally, I think it is important for families to understand what they are taking on when cross-culturally adopting a child. There are many things to consider when adopting a child of another ethnic background and ways to promote a positive racial identity. Some ways to promote this are discussed in the following page. Finally, touching on the articles summarized on a previous page, it is clear throughout each article that the adoptees had challenges with identity. Some major takeaways from the first article is the importance of living in an area that is culturally diverse and has individuals of the same racial origin as the adoptee. Major themes discovered when reading the second article were related to feelings of not fitting in. They felt like they were in-between the white culture in which they were raised and the Korean culture from where they were born. It is explored how adoptees can navigate their own unique sense of cultural identity. The third article explores the experiences of Korean adoptees who are college graduates. The study found participants also had challenges with identifying with a certain culture. Additionally, it was found that students who were raised using a colour-blind mentality had negative effects on one’s development of racial identity. The article suggested more courses integrated into college curriculum could provide a better opportunity for students to explore their ethnic identity. Therefore, it is evident that it can be a challenging journey to developing racial identity when adopted by parents of a different race. It seems as though keeping an open conversation is important as well as allowing for children to explore their Asian heritage from a young age. It also seems living in a diverse community is important for adoptees to feel more of a sense of belonging. Although navigating the path towards racial identity can be challenging, it is ultimately unique adoptee’s lived experiences.