So, my year of the Rooster has ended. As it turns out, I actually wrote my first birthday post on the year of Rooster, so this is my second cycle now. I find it interesting that I was led to write my birthday post because of a discussion I once had with a friend. So, I decided to write about it and somehow, it’s become a tradition for me, which is something I intend to keep. Kinda like having a diary.

I was once asked by a KAD, which is short for Korean American Adoptee. After doing some research of my own and my personal experience, I was led to write this particular snippet, which I realize is pretty special in its own way.

There are four stages that most Korean adoptees tend to go through. First question was asking whether they were really born in Korea or not. After that, second question was to ask why they were adopted and the reason behind that. Third question is whether they can reunite with their family, meet siblings if any and learn more about their history and culture. Fourth and final question is whether they can accept this identity and carry it with them for the rest of their life as well as maintain relationships with their family if both parties desired.

I can say I’ve gone into the 4th stage and still keep in touch with my birth family. I tend to keep this identity as something unique. This is the only thing I know and how I am different from others. It’s interesting how things unfold, because at the beginning, I wasn’t really looking for my birth family in South Korea and that it happened rather fateful. I’ve written how the girl and I met in college, who ended up being the one that helped me find my birth family. We just happened to be in the common studying area by the hall, with a round TV, and was mostly used for doing homework or discussion with students. I remember I was doing my art project and needed a big table to work on. There was the girl who was just reading through textbooks, mostly likely how to learn English. That’s because she’s an international student and had come from South Korea to study English as the second language in Rochester, NY. This was something I noticed at the start. I waited, and saw her again. At that time, I was watching the Summer Olympics being held in Sydney, Australia. The round TV was showing a women’s volleyball game between Australia and South Korea. As I was watching the game on TV, the girl turned her head to the TV and kept watching. That gave me all the clue I needed. She’s a Korean. I took up courage and finally stepped forward and introduced myself.

So, that’s how I found my birth family, in that moment. Maybe I should write more about that but that’s for another time. It’s one of few things I’ve come to realize about myself and my identity. I’m starting to believe that I have something unique to share with the world. So, writing this birthday post is one of them. I’ve also been working on something, so I hope to share it once it’s ready to be shipped to the world. :)

Well, happy birthday to me and to the second cycle of Chinese Zodiac.