Life is funny. You never know who you are going to meet along the way, or what your life is going to turn out like. 

But I can honestly tell you that if I hadn’t been adopted, I highly doubt I would be where I am today. I would have given up on myself and everything else in life.

My life was very rocky at the beginning, but that all changed when I was about four and a half years old. That’s when I met my adoptive parents Regina and Andrew, the two most amazing, bravest people in the world.

Going through the care system, being moved around a lot, it can mess with a child’s head very badly. I wasn’t happy at all. The one person I knew I could depend on was my older sister, other than that I didn’t trust anyone. Who could blame me? I was consistently let down. But the day these two came along, they showed me that wasn’t how life was meant to be. They made me trust again, made me realise that not everyone will let me down and that I should never let anyone down.

Adoption is not easy. Not for us as the children, and not for the couple adopting. I have probably had more to cope with than most adults.

But my mother and father are my mentors, my confidants, my heroes, and the people I turn to first when I am upset or even if something new and exciting has happened. The comfort I feel from our friendship, the confidence in their faith in me, and the unconditional support of whatever I do, is irreplaceable.

My parents know me in ways no one else ever will. They see a bright future for me, and they always support and encourage me to try new things and work hard for what I want in life.

Family doesn’t have to be blood; loyalty, faith, and kindness is what makes a family and that is why no one can ever take the place of my parents.