Hello. My name is
Jennifer. I am 22 years old, and for 20 of those
years, have known that I was adopted. I was born
January 11, 1982 in Clearwater, FL, to whom I'm still not
sure.
I was adopted in August of 1984, along with my brother,
Steven. He was 4 at the time of adoption. Our
adoptive parents have told us from day one that we were
special, that we were chosen. Most parents don't get
to choose their kids, we were told, you were picked out and
adopted. At first I was confused and sad. Where
were my real mommy and daddy I wondered all of the time.
Why were we not with them? I didn't talk to anyone
except my brother for almost a year after the adoption.
I used to bury my head in between the couch cushions if
anyone tried to get me to talk. I was scared. I
was sad. And most of all I felt alone.
As I got older, my feelings changed. I went from
not talking at all, to talking all the time. I went
from being scared to trying to forget. From sad to
angry, alone to abandoned. I did bad in school,
not concentrating on my work, talking when I wasn't
supposed to, getting in trouble. I tried to hide the
fact that I was adopted, but my teacher knew and thought the
other kids might find it interesting, She could teach what
adoption was. But the other kids picked on me because I was
adopted. They said no one wanted me. They gave
me away. I didn't have a mommy and daddy. The guidance
counselors at the school tried to tell me the same
thing my parents did, that I was special. I was
chosen.
When my class tried to trace their family
trees, to find their roots, I wasn't allowed to
participate. When other kids talked about how they
were half this, a quarter that and and a quarter this, I
could only say that my adopted last name was Norwegin.
As I got older, the kids became less harsh, more
understanding. I wasn't angry anymore, I was more
mature, able to understand for myself what adoption meant,
and even the possible circumstances surrounding the
adoption. To this day I am still confused as to
exactly WHY and am currently searching for WHO. All I
know is I'm here, I'm happy, and I love who I have become.
Yes, I went through a lot of crap to become who I am, but I
wouldn't have it any other way.
