Chelsea  -

Being adopted is the greatest gift I have been given. I realize that each day is a gift and am forever gratful for the choice my birthmother made. I have the most amazing parents in the world and none of it would have been possible if it wasn’t for her decision to choose life.

Tristan -

I’m a sophomore in college, sociology major, an exercise nut, and an occasional tennis player.  However, none of these things above define the person I am or the person I’m striving to be.  The truth is being adopted has defined me ever since I can remember. 

I grew up believing that having an adoptive family along with a biological family was perfectly normal.  From as far back as I can remember to the year I turned fifteen, I constantly wondered about my biological family.  All I knew is that I had a mother, father, a younger brother, and an older sister.  So many questions continually ran through my head from what they looked like to what they did as a family —-without me.  I’d be a liar if I said that I was never angry or upset and never wondered why they felt it imperative to give me away.  However, when the wondering and the questions became too much to handle I decided it was time to tell my parents that I desperately needed a relationship with the people who gave birth to me fifteen years earlier.  Mustering up the courage to explain my desires to my parents is undoubtedly one of the hardest things I’ve ever endured.  Here I had these wonderful people who had taken care of me and loved me my entire life and I had to explain to them that for some reason, I needed more.

To my surprise they honored my decision.  No matter how much it hurt them to know that I needed more than they could give me, they stood by me throughout the whole process.  Amazingly, they supported my decision to try to develop a relationship with the parents I had never met.  I firmly believe that it is because of their support that our relationship is so strong.  Without it we would have never survived as a family and that would have been a shame because they are truly two of the most amazing people I have ever met.  Because of them I now have a relationship with my biological family and for that I will always be grateful.

The truth is, I’m a success story.  However, without my adoptive parents support, that would have never been the case.  Thanks to them and Infant of Prague I have been blessed with two amazing families.  One had to put my well being above their own desires and make a plan of adoption and the other stepped into my life without hesitation and took care of me just as if I were their biological child.  Because of Infant of Prague and their emphasis and support of open adoptions I have had the privilege to learn from the people who chose an adoption plan while keeping the close relationship I’ve always had with the people who took me in.