On her birthday two years ago, I gave my sister a card that just said “You’re adopted” on the front. She burst out laughing, as did I. Why do we just joke about adoption? Because it’s a fact. And it’s what makes her the one that made our family.

My sister is a diva. She’s messy, sarcastic and isn’t a morning person. She’s also the most beautiful, caring, funny and unique person I’ve ever met.

Some people ask if she knows she’s adopted. For one thing, she’s black. My mom is white and my dad is Indian. I’m pretty sure she would’ve noticed at some point. But more importantly, my parents never tried to keep it a secret. Why would you try to hide that you spent years trying to adopt? Why would you hide that you wanted her more than anything in the world? And why would you make it seem like a process to find children families would be a bad thing?

When my sister was adopted, we all had to make promises. We got in front of a judge and my parents promised to love and care for her. I swore I would share my toys and always look out for her. And my sister, being the star of all our worlds even then, just had to sit there and listen to the people around her vow to never stop loving her. Honestly, it sounds like a good deal to me.

Adoption does not make her any less my sister. I don’t understand how blood has anything to do with family. Being blood related doesn’t mean you get along or you necessarily look the same. It just means you share some DNA. And in the end, what does it matter? Biology isn’t the reason my parents helped us with our homework, read to us or gave us everything we need and then some.

I’ve changed for the best because my sister is in my life. Our family receives odd glances, ignorant questions and sometimes accepting responses. We understand racism still exists. We understand these false myths about adoption still exist. And we understand that by being a family, we are fighting all those things every day.

The amount of adoptions worldwide has decreased significantly over the years. And this isn’t because there aren’t kids to adopt. It’s because society has some false ideas about how beautiful adoption really is. There’s also a lot of stigmas on interracial adoption. Which is a load of bull. My parents have raised my sister to be a strong, independent and confident young woman. My mom has learned to do her hair and exposed her to her history as much as she could. My sister didn’t lose anything by being adopted. She just had everything to gain.

My sister is my whole world and she has been since she completed our family in 2000. Looking back, the best gift the world has ever given me is the five week old baby that we greeted off the plane from Georgia.