Being adopted from Russia was one of the single best things to have ever happened to me. Without my biological parents giving me up at an early age (I was only a couple months old), I wouldn't be the person I am today. Everyone always asks me if I have ever been interested in finding my birth parents, but honestly I don't really know. It's not that I don't care, because I do, but I am so content with my life now. I haven't known anything different. I guess the reason I haven't is for fear of changing my life drastically.

I'm sure one day I'll get the courage or curiosity to find out about my biological parents, but until then, I love my life. My family now couldn't be any better. I had a great childhood full of laughter, happiness and pure joy.

Knowing I was adopted was never a surprise. At least for me, I've always known I was adopted. My parents even celebrate my "gotcha" day. But sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I wasn't- or if I would even be alive. I wonder if I have any brothers or sisters, or what my birth mother looks like. I wonder if I'd be speaking an entirely different language or be living in a completely different culture.

Sometimes I feel embarrassed to say that I was adopted,

Then I remember that this is what God wanted and that my parents chose ME for a reason. I am loved the exact same as if my parents now had me and I am treated no differently. I am God's gift to my family.