Taking the first step

March 14, 2020

The letter I've been waiting for. The Intercountry Adoption Board of the Republic of the Philippines has approved my request to locate my birth family. My official search to find my birth family with the assistance of the Intercountry Adoption Board and the Department of Social Welfare and Development has begun.  Whatever the outcome may be, I remain hopeful. You can never truly be prepared for the results. You just have to accept them and know that everything happens for a reason. My journey to find my birth mother and my birth family started nearly 10 years ago. Never did I imagine I would be this close to locating the humans who gave me life. On the other side of the world, in a land that seems so foreign to me. America is all I've ever known for more than 30 years. I'm one step closer to finding out who I truly am, where I came from and the circumstances surrounding my birth. I have so many questions, so many thoughts, feelings and emotions going through my mind right now. It's the fear of the unknown that has affected me greatly. That's truly been one of the hardest parts of my journey. Not knowing who is on the other side or what situation I could be walking into...