"I always knew I was adopted. I met my birth mother in 8th grade; I met my siblings on her side shortly thereafter. My birth father, I didn't meet until I was 19. I met his side when I was 19, too. And obviously I've known my mom and dad forever — they're the family I grew up with. The most eye-opening part of the whole experience was discovering I had siblings. I grew up an only child, but I'm one of 10 in my birth family! Also, me and my sisters really look alike. We're all within a quarter inch of each other's heights. So my birth mom and the four girls are all like the same height! I'd say the other eye-opening thing was, the first time I met my birth dad was with my birth mom, and they hadn't seen each other since she was pregnant with me. That was just kind of weird and a trip. Like, in a whole other world this could have been my life. It was totally fine – they are both in better places than they were."
