Tag: Adoption

Adopting Identity

Melissa McKinney

I attended a conference this past weekend for Asian American students attending schools in the East Coast. I had no idea what to expect since this was the first conference I’ve ever attended. While there, I attended a workshop on reclaiming adoptee narratives. As we gathered in a circle to share our experiences as Asian American adoptees I realized it was the first time in my life I had been in such a gathering. As we opened up and listened to each other’s experiences, I was startled how similar some…

Two Worlds, One Family

Melissa McKinney

I didn’t grow up with apes or completely isolated by society by any means, but I did grow up with a white dad, a Taiwanese mom, and three brothers who were half-white, half-Taiwanese. I am none of these things.   When I was three, I was adopted from China. It’s rarely something that I like to open with even though it’s probably one of my most defining or at the very least more interesting aspects of my life. As I was growing up though, I avoided it as much as…