Adopted. When most people hear this word, they assume the worst. That is far from the truth. While yes, there are downsides. For me, being adopted has been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. 

Pam Kieninger never thought she would want kids. Until one day she found herself wanting to complete her family, and was able to do so through adoption. 

This is our story.

At seven months the process of being placed into a new home began. By placing me up for adoption, my birth mom was making the best decision for me she could. I was given wonderful opportunities, and a family like no other.

When my mom first arrived in Alabama to start the adoption, I had to be taken to the emergency room. I was sick from the lack of care I had experienced in my original home. I also could not hold my head up properly, my mom had to be patient and work extra hard as I was trying to master abilities I should have already learned. 

When my mom got to bring me home, she always told me nights were hard. I had night terrors frequently. I would scream and cry, and they could never get me to wake up. She would just wait them out with me.

“I had never seen anything like it before, I didn’t know what to think, you looked so different from the happy girl we saw during the day. At first it was terrifying, then it was hard. We didn’t know what to do or what was going on.” Pam Kieninger said. 

Growing up, having the label adopted was not always easy. My mom made sure I grew up knowing it was a positive thing and that it made me unique. That did not mean the experience was always easy, it often brought me down. 

“You were [a] fighter, you’ve always been a fighter. You have a cunning desire to thrive, not just survive. You have always just been a force to be reckoned with.” Pam Kieninger said.

I remember being in kindergarten the first day, they asked me what was something that made me unique, and immediately I told them I was unique because I was adopted.

It was easier when I was younger, I never paid attention to what the adults said and children did not know what it meant yet. However, as I started growing up, I heard the talks more, and I started to get looks of pity from my classmates. Adults would talk about how I looked nothing like my mom or dad, and about how the situation must have been really hard for me. 

That stage was the hardest, when I was taking all those comments to heart, and I could not let those looks just roll off my back. I wanted to scream, tell all of them I was happy with my situation, and how great it was. 

However, I was not the only one going through this, my sister Autumn had comments said to her about being adopted as well.

“I always remember people using it as a joke. For example, we would play never have I ever, and they would always say “been adopted.” They never realized it wasn’t something we could help or ask for. People who have used it as a joke upset me the most because it’s not funny,” said Autumn.

It is not always easy, but we were both placed in loving and supportive families who helped us through all the hard times.

My mom is my best friend. She tells me all the time she made my initials ARK because I was God’s promise to her when she found out she could not have children of her own. She reminds me all the time we were put together for a reason, and I could not agree more. 

“The day the judge signed the adoption papers God put his hands on me and said “Child, this is what I have given you all of your strength for, good luck!” That day is still the best day of my life. I found the love of my life that day,” Pam Kieninger said.

My mom is the one who raised me, loved me, held me when I was crying, she is my mom in every sense of the word. My family has been nothing but supportive and kind. They have loved me and accepted me and raised me like I was their own. That is what family is truly about.

Family is love and loyalty. Being adopted has blessed me with the chance to see just how beautiful that is first hand. No matter what happens, I know they will have my back, and that is more than I could ever ask for.

While being adopted has had downsides, that does not change the fact that it was the greatest thing to ever happen in my life. Being blessed with a family who loves and cares about me and educational opportunities that I would not have had, is something I will never take for granted. So, yes, being adopted does make me different, but in the most amazing way I know.