Why I Want to Adopt

The main reason I would like to adopt is so I could have a positive, lasting, effect on a child and his or her life. I used to mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters and I enjoyed it but it bothered me that I couldn't have a greater impact on the child's life. There are so many kids, both domestically and internationally, without "forever families" and I'd love to be the "forever family" for some of those kids. I am very patient and nurturing and I think that is a major thing that these kids need. I also feel like I was born to be a mom. I love children and I want to help kids be everything their potential allows. I think that the best and most rewarding way to do this is to be a parent because it's something I can see through the course of development and growth. This is best realized by constant love, encouragement, patience and nurturing which I believe is best achieved as a parent through a lifetime rather than simply by mentoring or something like that. I absolutely want to have biological children so my family history and geneology can be passed onto future generations. I also think that we'd have beautiful children. However, there are many kids in the world today that need families now. I know I can't be a mom to all of them but even if I could only parent one or two, it still makes a difference in that child's life. Every little bit helps. :-)

I'm interested in international adoption because there are several programs available. I'm interested in the Asian programs, in particular. They are streamlined programs and the Asian culture is very fascinating to me. Also, I think that the Asian people are beautiful people.

I'm starting to become more and more interested in the domestic adoption program as well. The nice thing about the domestic program is that it's a fairly quick process to adopt and there's far less paperwork involved. Also, there's little to no expense involved in adopting domestically.

The "types" of kids I'd like to adopt are classified as "waiting children" or "special needs." In the international programs these kids are usually older with or without "special needs." The "special needs" can be either minor or major from cleft lip/palate to limb differences to something like cerebral pulsy. With the domestic programs, the "special needs" are usually age and/or social or developmental delays, mostly due to a poor home environment prior to being available for adoption. In the domestic programs all of the children that are available for adoption are in the foster care system and their birth families have had their parental rights relinquished due to neglect, abuse, etc.

I think that the biggest problem I have right now with being able to start an adoption (domestic) is that my house is only 576 square feet and the second bedroom is only big enough for a twin bed and a dresser. Also, since I live with someone I don't think that I can adopt until we're married. If we weren't living together I could adopt as a single mom.

NOTE: If you would like to share your experiences and thoughts, please due so. I'd love to hear what everyone has to say.