TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to adopt. I do not know if my wish to adopt came because I was in a way adopted and raised by my grandparents, but it has always been more than just a desire, it is a goal that has a force of it own. I have been dreaming about my adopted child for a long time, just like I have and would for my birth children. The idea of going to a place and being handed my child is heart warming. I think that would be one of the most special and happiest moments of my life.

For the longest time I wondered where do I want to adopt from. There is so much need everywhere really, that saving a child from the harshness of his or her current reality is a great deal, no matter where that takes place. I have thought about adopting a little girl from somewhere in Latin America, and lately I have harbored the idea of adopting from Ethiopia. I was just watching something on TV that made my feelings toward adoption stronger. I see life so harsh and circumstances so cruel and devastating for girls that the mere thought of knowing that someone goes through such horrors in life is heart breaking and difficult to believe and digest. Talk about an imperfect world! I realize I can make an imperfect world closer to perfection by taking action. And I will.

I am determined to make my dream come true in the immediate future. I am determined to not look at the ugliness of the world in a passive way, but to raise and do something about it to make it better. I am determined to make a difference in the world, or at least somebody’s world. Of course, some people think that adopting while being able to have “natural” children is nonsense. What is natural anyways? Friends are like siblings that we choose for ourselves, and that is not unnatural. We choose our life partners, we make our families, that is natural, and doing it in a non-conventional way is also natural.

The way I see adoption is that I can at least save one life (or a few). In the face of despair I can ignore things and look the other way, feel sorry but not do anything, or step up to the plate and act. I would not be able to live with myself knowing that I could have done but did not do. I would not be able to live with myself knowing that I could have done more but was paralyzed by the contentment, comfort, and worries of living in my “perfect” little world. It might take me some time, but sooner than later I will get on that plane and I will travel to the end of the world to meet who will be a great part of my family. I love her already, and anxiously wait for the moment I can realize my dream for her. I will be so excited when that day comes, I hope she knows how much I have been waiting for that moment, and how amazing our journey together will be.