I should start out by saying that you all managed to put yourselves in a situation that could have been avoided. Everyone deserves people in their corner, someone cheering them on and making them feel secure, especially when that person is a family member, and certainly when that person is a "parent."

I hope that you found whatever it is you were looking for because the amazing people you left behind have. They have found happiness, success, joy, and love. They have been through very difficult times, some thanks to you, but there is a family we have built here and we know have built here and we know how to support each other quite well.

Another thing I have to say to you is thank you.

I could not have built my chosen family without your negligence. Your pure disaster of a real relationship with these people has created bonds that can never, ever be broken. Your ignorance of simple human emotion or common sense is nothing short of a gift to me, and I couldn't be any more thankful for it. Your abandonment has given me a chance to help some pretty strong and beautiful people grow, and I have learned exactly how not to act and exactly what not to tolerate when it came to my own relationships.

Lastly, I would like to say that you should be incredibly proud of the people that you gave life too, but I will not insult them by saying you "raised" them. You did not, and for that, you should be incredibly disappointed in yourselves. You gave life to someone who is strong and independent in their own right because of what you put them through.

You, however, are someone who is cowardly and weak. You gave life to someone who knows their worth and stands up for what is right. You are someone who runs at the sight of struggle and allows others to take the fall for their mistakes. You gave life to someone I am proud to call my family. You became someone they deny being related too.

Since I have cleared the air, thank you so much for the family that I got to choose. They are absolutely amazing. We have so many memories and adventures left ahead.

As for yourself, I am not sorry that we won't be seeing each other anymore. Maybe someday you will be welcomed back into OUR family. When you have managed to grow as much as we have.

Goodbye and good luck,

Alyssa