What Growing Up In An Open Adoption Taught Me

I can’t believe it has almost been a year since I first wrote this for America Adopts!

Juliana, who works for a non-profit organization in Las Vegas and recently started an MBA program, hopes that sharing her story will give others a deeper understanding about what it means to grow up in an open adoption. To find out more about her and her thoughts about adoption, visit her Facebook page, That Adopted Girl

1. What does open adoption mean to you?

It is having the ability to ask your birth parents the questions that adoptees in closed adoptions rarely get answered. It means never wondering if you were given up because your birth parents didn’t love you or didn’t want you. It means being able to develop a thorough understanding of how and why you wound up somewhere other than in a home with your biological parents. At least this is what I experience/experienced.

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LOVE always and forever,

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Realizing Your Self Worth

“Your outlook on life is a direct reflection on how much you like yourself.” ~ Lululemon

“My existence on this earth is pointless.”

That thought crossed my mind every night before I fell asleep.

It had been several months since I graduated from high school and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. My future plans were falling to pieces, and everyone around me kept telling me that I needed to start accomplishing things that I had not yet accomplished.

A Quick Thought on Relinquished Kids Killing Themselves

Adopted kids have an increased chance of early death.  Is this because of the stress?  Heartache?  Do these things take such a toll on us that we live shorter lives?

Nope.

5 Superstar Celebrity Moms Who Adopted (#2)

Sandra Bullock

Best known for: Acting in movies such as The Proposal, Speed, and Miss Congeniality; winning an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Blind Side; and a very public split from husband andMonster Garage host Jesse James.

Adopted child: Son Louis Bardo Bullock

5 Celebrity Moms Who Adopted (#1)

Jillian Michaels

Best known for: Training contestants on The Biggest Loser reality show to help them get in shape and lose weight. Michaels has written books, starred in fitness DVDs, and created video games for the Wii and Xbox that all focus on helping people live a healthier life.

Adopted child: Daughter Lukensia

Adoption details: Michaels first announced her plans to adopt in December 2010 when she revealed that she would be leaving The Biggest Loser. After months of searching, she met her child during a trip to Haiti. “I went over to visit orphanages and I ended up falling in love with this little girl,” she told Access Hollywood in December 2011. “By the grace of God, I got matched up with her.” Michaels was finally able to bring 2-year-old Lukensia home from the Caribbean nation in May 2012. 

Why Tove Lo’s “Habits” Totally Applies to Adopted Kids

 “Habits” – Tove Lo

You’re gone and I gotta stay

High all the time

To keep you off my mind

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh

High all the time

To keep you off my mind

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh

Spend my days locked in a haze

Trying to forget you babe

I fall back down

Gotta stay high all my life

To forget I’m missing you

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh

Adopted kids have issues. Believe me, I definitely have my fair share. Maybe I will tell you about them later.   One of our issues is a predisposition to substance abuse. We are at a higher risk for drug addiction and alcoholism than are conventional children. Is this because of our unaddressed emotional issues about being put up for adoption? Is it because a lot of people with substance abuse problems put their kids up for adoption? I’m not sure. It’s probably a combination of the

2.

I can see how substance abuse is an escape from the emotional pain adopted kids experience. I have been in therapy for 13 years, so I have done a lot of work to understand my adoption issues. My parents were very proactive. But if I hadn’t been in therapy I might be a heroin addict by now!   Knowing my parents I would actually probably be a heroin addict doing my 3^rd stint in rehab by now…maybe an alcoholic.

I digress…

Why Miley Cyrus’ Win was the Most Important VMA Moment

Miley Cyrus was all anyone could talk about after last year’s VMAs. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing, though, with her twerking on Robin Thicke being blamed for the complete moral degradation and corruption of America’s impressionable youth. But, this year, Miley Cyrus’ actions will also be the most talked about moment at the VMAs — and that’s a good thing.

oh $#!+ what do I say?!

Sometimes it is hard for adoptees to talk with people about their experience of adoption. I know that I have always felt that it would be difficult for people to understand my feelings and thoughts about adoption unless I had a very long time to talk about it…