Karthik, as an adopted child of unknown ancestry, I face(d) a different issue: yes, I have adoptive parents and of course they imprinted on me their ways of thinking and doing.

What’s missing for me and so many other adoptees is the genetics of it all, even though that’s only a part of anyone’s identity. I know I am wired very, very differently from the woman who called me daughter, and that made for some extra difficult years between us. My adoptive dad and I were similar enough so that it was easier being his daughter.

I was just a little kid when I began creating my own identify, even though I didn’t know enough to understand what I was doing. I just knew that I didn’t fit easily into the loving family that adopted me, and I didn’t know why for the longest time.

You didn’t want to look like your dad because you wanted and needed to create your own identify, and I sure get that! You do know some of who and what shaped you, even though when all the DNA is scrambled inside us, we still are unique.

Thanks for another must-read article, Karthik Rajan!