My life is in some ways similar to the stages that I sometimes take when writing an Odyssey article. In the end, however, I come to realize that there is always room to grow. Throughout multiple stages of my development and for the longest time, I had difficulty comprehending my story.

The fact of fully internalizing why this time frame included a rule called the One Child Policy defined my actions and thoughts as a child. Those times will forever linger with me on the inside, but it is how I continue going about sharing my story with others that truly makes all the difference in the world.

This is always a sensitive time of year for me. It is the time where my parents always remind me of how their final steps of the adoption process were worth all the paperwork that had to be done beforehand. It leaves me with a heart filled with blessings and being grateful every step of the way, which will forever be carried with me; where these people who at one point I did not even know existed started caring for me even before they met me. Overall, this describes the true essence of adoption.

I have been lucky as you might call it. Family, friends, and God have ultimately transformed my life; all in different ways. With any rule, however, has its downfalls. Some were not given a second chance at life as they were abandoned. I have heard stories that many babies were left under bridges where they could not be found. They were innocent and in a way helpless. They did not have a voice. I could have been in that scenario.

For this and many other reasons, it continues to naturally push me to stay as truthful as possible when sharing my story. I have been given the opportunity twice so far to openly present my adoption story as a college student. I always begin with a statement that implies that I am not here to sugar coat my story, but at the same time that my objective is not for you to feel bad for me. This is with the addition that I am open to further discuss it at the end.

For this to be the way of life back then, I have accepted that putting blame on someone will not change anything. In China, the One Child Policy was a major aspect that depicted how authority and their power can reach a high level of cruelty.

Individuals who were starting another chapter of parenthood were scared to experience what authorities might do as the couple brought yet another newborn into their life. During this time, babies were often looked at as a disgrace that would automatically increase the already problematic rate of population. I could not imagine what my birth family and many other families had to go through when they had to decide what is in the best interest of their lifestyles. What one might not understand, however, is that authority dictated these families' every move; where obeying this policy brought forth much sacrifice.

I was part of that sacrifice, but coming to terms with why this had to happen the way that it did ultimately destroyed me. Looking back on it now, however, allows me to realize how far I have come. I was once shy when it came to accepting and expressing myself since this policy left me with a lot of "what ifs."

These questions later transformed into motivators as I came to a better understanding that this had to happen for me to find my voice. A voice that could make up for all the silence that was created by the babies who did not live to celebrate their earliest of birthdays.