What is Worthy?

The guy wearing this wristband had a moment where someone commented on his sexuality in a derogatory manner, saying “that’s homo.” He looked at me and said “did you hear what that guy said?” I saw a glimpse of serious pain on his face so I took this WORTHY wristband off of my wrist, gave it to him and told him all about the WORTHY mission…the message in my heart being, “you are worthy.”

Let me tell you about WORTHY….
***This is a bit long but if you start reading it, please read it to the end. It’s worth it.

WORTHY: It’s a tribe, a philosophy and a movement. Everyone is welcome.

You may or may not have noticed that I focus on promoting self worth and ‪#‎TheWorthyTribe‬, especially through That Adopted Girl

WHY out of all the words in the world did I choose worthy to represent the company, to be a motto in my life and to create a tribe around?

First let me tell you that a person with a sense of self worth is more likely to be joyful, successful and fulfilled. They are more likely to maintain their boundaries, walk away from toxic situations, go after what they want, treat themselves well and treat others well.

❤Self worth is a sense of one’s inherent value as a human being. ❤

*This isn’t all about foster and adopted kids so hang with me.*
Adopted and foster kids struggle immensely with self worth for numerous reasons.It might be sadness and confusion about why their biological parents (the people who are supposed to have an undying love for them) were either unwilling or unable to care for them. It might be physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect or relinquishment. The Worthy message was created partly for them. So that they may be told they are worthy, so that they may experience being treated as a worthy person, so that they may find their sense of self worth as they hear the message repeated and so they may feel like they belong by being part of the tribe.

WORTHY goes so much further. Human beings in general struggle with self worth. You, me, the family down the street. It may be a deep struggle and it may be a slight struggle that pops up from time to time. It could be triggered by rejection, failure, disappointment. You might start feeling unworthy when you go through a break up, when you get in trouble at work, when your loved ones don’t believe in your dream, when you don’t get an invite, when an audience doesn’t respond to your performance the way you thought they would, when an investor doesn’t think your concept is worth investing in, when someone makes a derogatory comment about your race, sex, sexuality, physicality, intelligence… On top of that, we are inundated with advertising, media messaging and societal norms that are designed to point out things that make someone worthy, and of course point out that you don’t have those things. But you could have those things, and be worthy, if only you X and Y and Z.

The point is that there are a lot of things in life that challenge our ability to recognize our own worth. Because of that, on some level we can understand how low and heavy a lack of self worth can feel, how much it can hurt and how much better life is with your sense of self-worth in tact.

#TheWorthyTribe is for you. For everyone who on some level understands what it’s like to question ones worth. Everyone who deeply struggles with finding their worth. Everyone who only questions their worth from time to time. Everyone who can maintain their sense of self worth through thick and thin, come rain or shine. Everyone who wants to promote self worth in others. Everyone who wants to live in the positive rather than the negative, in love rather than hate, in WORTHINESS rather than degradation.

EVERYONE

If we all worked on developing a strong sense of worth in ourselves and others, imagine how different the world would be. Seriously, think about how many debates, fights and political issues are actually about who is worth more and who is worth less.

The Worthy Tribe – a tribe of people internationally who believe in and promote the worth of themselves and the worth of others. None more, none less.

Everyone is welcome.

One of my favorite parts of this tribe is that, by being part of the tribe, the people who feel invisible, who feel like they are on the outside looking in, who feel like they are forgotten or like they have been thrown away by society (like foster kids)…..they can feel like they belong again

You are worthy.

#TheWorthyTribe

To learn more and support, visit www.ThatAdoptedGirl.com

 

Why helping people is badass

I founded That Adopted Girl in 2014.  If you don’t know about That Adopted Girl, it’s a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed to inspire, empower and uplift kids in the foster care system, as well as to raise awareness about adoption and foster care in the United states.

Since founding That Adopted Girl I have been called sweet, cute, etc.  I understand that these classifications are coming from a good place.  But…these words make me cringe a little every time I hear them.  It takes everything in me not to show my discomfort through my facial expression.  If I don’t have much time to stay and chat I smile and say “thank you.”  If I do have time to stay and chat I smile and say, “No, I’m a badass.”

Helping people is badass.  It is what we should all be doing.  It is a hustle, it’s a grind and it helps society as a whole.  I’m not sweet.  I am determined to reduce human suffering and increase the amount of positive energy in this world.  Changing lives in a positive way is my passion.  Passion is power.

Helping humankind progress to be as powerful, strong and loving as possible is a PRIMARY human purpose.  #Alpha

Love always,

Juliana Whitney

Founder & President

That Adopted girl inc.

http://www.ThatAdoptedGirl.com

What Are You Supposed To Say During National Adoption Month?

It is National Adoption Month – an entire month dedicated to the population that That Adopted Girl Inc. serves and I have been struggling.  I have been struggling with determining the way to powerfully get the message about foster care and adoption across to the general population this month.  Truly I have been struggling with what in the world “the message” actually is or what it should be.

Is “the message” that we need more foster parents in the U.S.?  Is it that we need more people to adopt children from the U.S.?  Is it that we as a society need to look out for these kids and care for the kids while they are in the system, whether we are foster parents or not?

OR

Is “the message” about the effect adoption has on kids?  Is it about the effect that foster care has on kids?  Is it to focus on WHY there are so many kids in the system each year and how the root of the problem can be dealt with?  Is it shining a light on the stats about adoption/foster care and mental health, suicide, eating disorders, learning difficulties, addiction and attachment issues…?

OR

Is it about the issues within the foster care system?  Is it about the experiences of children within the foster care system?  Is it about the experiences of adopted kids?

Do any of these messages have power without the others?  Is there one in particular that would get more people to really care?  Most causes have one strong message, and everyone who cares deeply about the cause stands together and perpetuates that one message.  Then, over time that message becomes well-known among the general population.

When it comes to foster care and adoption there are so many issues to focus on. Everyone who cares about foster care and adoption recognizes each of the issues within the cause, but do not all agree on which issue is most important.  Therefore, unlike many other worthy causes, this cause lacks a solid single message.   Then, is it possible that it is difficult to get people to act because they are not sure what they can do to help?  They don’t know where to focus and they believe that if they aren’t going to foster or adopt that there isn’t much they can do?  Are foster child advocates confusing people by having so many different issues within one cause?  Is it overwhelming?  Is that why we are struggling to get more people to care? I’m talking autism awareness/breast cancer research/animal rescue – level caring.

HOW do we get people to care?  How do we get people to do more than say “oh that’s so sad” when they hear about foster kids?  How do we get people to DO something, to take action, to pay attention?  Or at the very least to donate so other people can do something about the issues?

WHAT do people need to hear in order to realize that it is really important to our society as a whole that we collectively give a $#!+ about our kids in the foster care system?

Have foster kids been written off as a First World problem?  Are they not important enough to care about?  Or is it that when people donate to care for orphans in Third World countries, the people pitied are “others” – separated from the great U.S.A?  Is it that if people were to focus on our foster kids they would have to pity their own, and admit that there are some Third World status issues happening within our First World, family values oriented country?

PLEASE correct me if I am wrong.  I think it is crazy that there are hundreds of thousands of children without permanent families.  Seriously.  As a child, isn’t having parents a natural-born right?  A human right?  What is it about the kids in the system that makes them unworthy of that human right?

Children are our future.  Right?  How can we as a society justify forgetting hundreds of thousands of futures every year?  How do child advocates raise social awareness to remind everyone about the large population of forgotten futures?

We should be doing EVERYTHING possible to help these kids while they are in the system and to help these kids get out of the system.  Focus on their personal development and self-worth while they are in the system like That Adopted Girl Inc. does.  Pair kids with supportive families like the Dave Thomas Foundation does.  Provide some dignity by replacing garbage bags with duffel bags for carrying belongings from home to home like Together We Rise does.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, how do we get people to realize that this is a HOPEFUL cause?

How do we explain the dichotomy of intense struggles with an immense desire and potential for light, growth and success?

How do we enlighten people to the fact that foster parenting is not the only way to make a positive impact in the lives of these children?  Yes, there is an immense need for more quality foster homes.  But, if you are not able or prepared to foster a child, there are other ways to help!

Our overall goal with any cause is for people to act, donate and care.  If we can reach people and get them to act, donate and care…then those people can tell other people and the movement to improve the lives of America’s children will grow exponentially.

What is “the message?” 

Any ideas?

I guess, take whichever issue that you think is most important and compelling within the cause and frame your message with “Act. Donate.Care.” in mind.

For newcomers, choose whichever issue you think is most important and compelling within the cause and stick to that for now.

The That Adopted Girl Inc message this year will be: There are some great kids in the foster care system.  It is really important to our society as a whole that we collectively give a $#!+ about these kids.  Let’s join together to raise social awareness and improve the lives of America’s children!

Make a donation at ThatAdoptedGirl.com

xoxo

Juliana Whitney

Founder & President

That Adopted Girl Inc.

Best National Adoption Month Awareness Campaign In Las Vegas

Best National Adoption Month Awareness Campaign In Las Vegas (Art submission still being accepted)

Non-profit teams with downtown Las Vegas gallery to use art for social change

The non-profit organization That Adopted Girl has partnered with Eden Art Studio & Gallery in Downtown Las Vegas for what is being deemed, “the best National Adoption Month awareness campaign in Las Vegas.”

From November 7th to December 4th (First Friday) The Eden Gallery will host Forgotten Futures – an art collection bluntly illustrating issues with the foster care system and adoption. Art pieces depicting issues with the foster care system will be created by local Las Vegas artists. Other pieces are being created by teens in the foster care system, depicting their real life experiences of the system from the inside.

Las Vegas artists are welcome to contact coordinator@thatadoptedgirl.com for questions about submissions.

“It is important to not sugar coat things. When we look at things for what they are, we can move toward change, or at least social awareness. The art in the Forgotten Futures awareness campaign illustrates adoption and foster care issues in an upfront and easily digestible way. Our goal is to get people to pay attention.” – Juliana Whitney, Founder & President of That Adopted Girl Inc.

ABOUT

That Adopted Girl is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded by Juliana Whitney, an adopted girl, in 2014 to improve the lives of America’s abandoned children and to raise awareness about foster care and adoption in the United States.

EDEN [Art Studio & Gallery] is Las Vegas’ venue for compelling contemporary art. The gallery is committed to presenting intelligent and culturally relevant exhibitions featuring work from some of today’s most dynamic artists with growing local and international reputations. Established in 2014, located in Las Vegas’ downtown Arts District, and under the guidance of Eden Pastor and Justin Lepper, EDEN is one of the best places to spot Las Vegas’ up-and-comers as well as established artists as it presents a vital force in the Las Vegas art scene with an emphasis on painting, urban art, and illustrative works.

For further information contact

Devin Alescia coordinator@thatadoptedgirl.com

Best Adoption Story Ever.

This adoption story was presented to me as the best adoption story ever.  “Ya, right,” I thought. “How many times have  I heard that?”

After binge watching all 4 seasons of ONCE I was pretty certain I had seen the best adoption story ever. 

I was wrong.

This is the best adoption story ever.  

Really, most adoption stories are pretty great.  This one simply stands out due to it’s actual uniqueness among adoption stories.

It speaks to human rights on more than one level.  Not only the right to family, but the right to love.

It lacks the magic of an orphan child finding a home with loving parents.  Instead it shows that there is magic in adoption beyond bonding parent and child. It shows that the magic of adoption is really all about creating family against all odds.

Macklemore says,”When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless.  Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen” in his song Same Love.

It turns out that adoption is kind of a rebellious badass because while everyone was more comfortable remaining voiceless about gay marriage, adoption was standing up for humans who had their rights stolen.  Adoption was standing up for the human right to LOVE.   Not just a human right, but a human necessity.

THE STORY
FROM FATHER & SON TO MARRIED COUPLE

Norman MacArthur, left, and Bill Novak were married on Sunday after spending more than a decade as father and son. (Photo: Matt slocum/AP Photo) 

A couple who were legally father and son for the last fifteen years had their adoption vacated and were married this week after 52 years together.

Norman MacArthur, 74, and Bill Novak, 76, were married in Pennsylvania on Sunday. The couple, who has been together since their 20s, registered as domestic partners in New York City in 1994, but in 2000 they moved to Erwinna, Penn., where domestic partnerships are not legally recognized. “When we moved to Pennsylvania, we had both retired and we were of the age where one begins to do estate planning,” MacArthur tells Yahoo Parenting. “We went to a lawyer who told us Pennsylvania was never going to allow same-sex marriage, so the only legal avenue we had in order to be afforded any rights was adoption.”

MacArthur says he thought the suggestion was strange at first. “It struck me as fairly unusual, but we looked into it and discovered that other couples had done it. [Without the adoption] we would be legally strangers.” An adoption would grant the couple certain legal rights they felt compelled to secure. “Most importantly, it would allow us visitation rights in a hospital, and gaining of knowledge if one of us was in the hospital,” he says. “With new HIPAA privacy laws, hospitals are very constrained in what they can say to other people. If we were legally related, I would be allowed into the ER and entitled to know what Bill’s condition was if anything should happen.”

Bill Novak, left, adopted Norman MacArthur in 2000 in order to secure legal rights. Today, the two are married. (Photo: Matt slocum/AP Photo)

So in 2000, the two went through with a legal adoption. Since both men’s parents were dead, the adoption proceeding was fairly easy. “It wasn’t as though I was replacing one parent with another,” MacArthur says. “I was the son and Bill was the father. Bill is two years older than I am, so that was the only reason.”

Hayley Gorenberg, deputy legal director at Lambda Legal, says that while adoptions like these aren’t common, they aren’t unheard of, either. “It reflects people’s deep need to protect each other as family, and the attempt to use law that obviously isn’t a perfect fit to their situation to protect each other,” she tells Yahoo Parenting. “While we’ve had a patchwork nation and people have been desperate to take care of each other in some basic way legally, people have sometimes gotten creative to do what they need to do to protect each other as a family. It’s entirely understandable.”

But when Pennsylvania’s marriage laws, which prohibited same-sex marriage, were declared unconstitutional last year, MacArthur and Novak wanted to marry. “As marriage equality, which we’ve fought so hard for, is becoming more available, it makes sense that people would pursue the legal option that more closely explains who they are to each other,” Gorenberg says. “Marriage is the better fit, and if it was available without discrimination, it is what they would have chosen originally.”

The couple’s original lawyer told them that no court would dissolve an adoption unless another person adopted MacArthur. “I said, ‘that makes no sense to me,’ so we began to look around for other options,” he says. Terry Clemons, a lawyer MacArthur knew through volunteer work on the township’s land preservation movement, suggested that the courts might look favorably on a petition to vacate an adoption if it was made clear that the only reason for the original adoption was to give a legal underpinning to the relationship.

The couple went to court on May 14 in hopes the judge would sign the petition to vacate their adoption so they could get legally married. “When we went to court my knees were knocking, but at the end of the hearing Terry said, ‘we’re hoping you will sign the order to vacate the adoption from the bench,’ and the judge said ‘I will happily do that,’” MacArthur says. “We had 30 friends in court to show that this case was out of the ordinary — though the judge knew that — and when the judge signed the order our friends burst into applause and I burst into tears.”

The case is the first time in Pennsylvania that an adoption between a same-sex couple has been vacated in order to allow the couple to marry, according to a statement from Clemons.

Ten days later, the two went from father and son to married couple. “We wanted to get the marriage done fairly quickly after the court vacated the adoption,” MacArthur says. “At that point we didn’t have any legal protection so we wanted to get it taken care of.”

The wedding was a small private ceremony conducted by an old friend of the couple’s who is an Episcopalian priest. “I feel incredibly happy. It’s the only way I can describe it – just enormously happy,” MacArthur says. “It was very much worth the wait.”

Original Story

xoxo

LOVE always and forever,

TAG

 

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An Important Lesson for the Perpetually Misunderstood

Some of the greatest people are completely misunderstood. When you are misunderstood just because you live your life however you want, 100%, authentically you. That’s awesome!

This is for the people who are ALWAYS misunderstood, and they HATE it and just can’t understand why.

Introducing Foster Fun by That Adopted Girl!

That Adopted Girl Inc. is incredibly excited to introduce the Foster Fun program (launching this fall!)!!  The Foster Fun program is designed to create HAPPY childhood experiences for kids in the system!  We figure

WE, the TAG tribe.

I often speak and write in “we” terms because I look at life as something we are all in together. I do not want ANYONE to have to walk alone. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

Join The WORTHY Tribe

Hello my powerful people! We’re working to improve this world every single day! Today these wristbands arrived!

Trapped in School to Prison Pipeline

When I dropped off Easter baskets at Child Haven there was a playground to my right with laughing kids playing on the jungle gym, and then I looked to my left and saw a big, pink, windowless concrete building surrounded by a very tall chain link fence that had prison barbed wire atop. “What is that?,” I asked.