I'm Legit: Adoption Video

I've been meaning to post this beautiful song ever since I saw it on my friend Kim's blog. She's a fellow adult adoptee and even got to be an extra in the video, what an exciting experience for her. I am so glad she's gotten to connect with other adoptees because sometimes no matter how hard your family and friends try to understand, only another adoptee can truely understand the complicated feelings of loss and grief that can arise.

The purpose of the song 'I'm Legit' is to raise awareness about the lack of rights an adopted adopted person has to have access to their own original birth certificate, because birth records are closed in the U.S. in every state except for Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oregon, Tennessee and Maine.

I don't think that it's too much to ask for the basic information, that most people take for granted. We just want to know our birth name, family history, medical history. It should be a right to know where we came from and it's a genuine need to know. Not knowing is a loss that hits me every time I have to fill out a form at the doctors. Under family history, there are just no answers for me. Until I had my daughter, I had never experienced looking at someone and seeing my own features looking back at me. I cannot begin to explain how emotional that was for me.

Some will say that the laws protect the birth mother's privacy, but in reality most birth mothers were never ever told that they would be protected nor did most want to be. In fact, 93% of birthmothers are happy to be reunited. These mothers said they waited and mourned for the loss of their children, many feeling pressured by either their families or society that they were being selfish to keep their babies that their babies would have a better life with two parents. In my opinion, the laws punish the innocent child in the triad of adoption, the adoptee whose only fault was in being born. Surely no one can believe that is fair.

When I was diagnosised as Type II diabetic, the doctors said that I had to have a family history, with possibily both maternal and paternal sides having diabetics in it. Had I known that information, maybe I could have been more educated at ways to try and delay the onset of the disease. At the very least I wouldn've known to be screened for it sooner. I'll never know if it would've made a difference, just as I'll never know what other pertinant medical history I should be aware of.

The most poignant part of the song for me is about looking at passerbys on the street, wondering if one of those walking by could be your parent. Are they looking for us too, do they wonder if we're looking for them too. I do that myself, even though as I was an overseas adoptee from Korea, the liklihood of my parents or another relative walking by me is rather remote. Part of me is at times is still compelled to examine any Asian person walking by, searching for a resemblance.

Laws changing in the US will have little consequence for me personally, but I believe knowing our history is important for everyone and helps adoptees lead productive lives. Please help us change this old fashioned law, and visit http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/ and donate to help us continue to fight this law.