Adoptee Quotes

Grace Haase

Adoption is something that happened to me when I was a baby - I don’t remember it at all.

Family is…. I’m not sure - I’ve always told people family is love, not blood, but I can’t deny that I’m really curious to take a 23andMe test to see if I have distant relatives somewhere.

Identity is…I literally have no idea. I think if I were to identify myself it’d be as a Midwesterner, but that’s not entirely true. Growing up I wasn’t treated as other white Midwesterners were so I certainly have a different perspective of what that means. I’d like to say I’m Chinese, but I know nothing about China because I was too embarrassed to learn when I was little, so I feel like I can’t claim that part of who I am.

I’m proud to be adopted because it means I’ve overcome a lot. I’m 22 years old and still don’t know who I am, but I’ve surrounded myself with a community of other adoptees which makes my self-discovery easier.