“I was put up for adoption after my parents were seen as “unfit” by the state.”  When I was young (2-3 years old), I was adopted by my two loving, white parents. My childhood was pretty average other then having white parents which made things a little weird. A lot of people asked unnecessary questions like “Why are your parents white?”, “Did your black parents not want you?”, and “Who do you like more?” These questions kept breaking me down and it was difficult for me to overcome them.

In addition to these questions, I also faced many other difficulties. For example, I believed that people disliked me for who I am, adopted and with white parents. It also felt weird when I was at family functions being the only black kid. I did not have much to relate to when I was younger since no one could teach me about my black heritage. I always felt like I had been purposely left out. Now another problem I faced was making friends. “I look black on the outside, but I am white on the inside.” That is what all the black kids in my community thought of me and I was excluded from most activities. “It was very annoying and because of my situation I was called an Oreo for my whole life.

I felt like I wasn’t accepted in either community: black or white.” Now most of this happened in elementary and middle school, and I never adapted to the situation. Instead, I just “ignored the mean kids because i knew they were just being mean.” Of course, I also had a lot of questions like any “typical adopted child,” like “Why was I adopted?” “Who do I look like more?” and “Do I have siblings?” “I recently got the chance to meet with most of my biological family, and got most of my questions answered. But in the end, they didn’t want to do anything with me.”

Anonymous