"What if I make contact, and she wants nothing to do with me? What if she's married and I'm her big secret? What if I look like him, instead of her, and she can't bear to look at me? ... What if she doesn't like me? What if she's nuts? What if she's homeless? What if she's dead?" (Kearney, 2012).

This was the first piece to my Interpretive Reading (IR) performance for my school's Speech and Debate team. IR is an event where one finds pieces of prose, poetry, and drama and assembles them in a creative fashion. During an IR, one will maintain the illusion of reading while speaking with eloquence and passion. I have done IR since I joined my high schools Speech and Debate team and this past year I decided to do adoption.

I was adopted at the ripe age of four days old. My birth parents made the decision that they were not capable of giving me a good life. I think back at my life after connecting with my birth father, and think that I owe everything to my birth parents. Not only did the conceive me - accidentally albeit - and my birth mother gave birth to me, but they gave me endless opportunities by giving me to a family that could take care of me. I was so thankful for the life that I was given that I thought it appropriate to center my final IR on being adopted.

The Girl in the Mirror, by Meg Kearney, was a poetic prose about a young Irish girl, Lizzie McLane. Lizzie is faced with the dilemma of finding her birth mother, thus unlocking her past, or accepting the life and family she was given as she struggles to identify who she is. The excerpt I chose from the book, quoted in the beginning of this article, captures the thoughts Lizzie has of her birth mother, which I often share. I chose this as my introductory piece; I spoke it with an Irish accent to catch the attention of my listeners even more. The rest of my IR was full of transitions where I mention my own personal story of adoption, an emotional prose, an inspiring poem, and a heart lifting conclusion about the joys of being adopted.

I worked hard on my IR and fortunately, it all paid off when I won first at the National Qualifications competition for my area. For one week I got to compete with the best of the best in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a wonderful experience, but this accomplishment meant that I was in my local paper.

I spent the month after National Qualifications receiving congratulations from what felt like the entirety of my small farming town. Many of which asked me to tell my adoption story and my views on adoption. I began feeling that people may see my IR about adoption as maybe a political rally for adoption and against abortion. It wasn't until a friend walked up to me to discuss my adoption story, and he made a comment about how good it was that people like me weren't afraid to be the voice for the unborn - I am paraphrasing of course. Not only that, but I received a few cold scowls from other Speakers at Nationals.

Now I feel like I need to disclaim: Just because I am adopted, does not mean I am Pro-Life. I am a long time identified feminist, meaning I believe in women's rights, men's rights, rape awareness for both men and women, and of course the freedom to choose. I've had many mildly irritating conversations with friends that feel that they need to remind me that my mother could have aborted me. To them I say, "Yes she could, " which is usually followed by huffs about how I wouldn't have a life if she had among other things. To which I respond, "It would be her choice."

I am so grateful for this life I was given. Even the days that aren't so great, I am so happy. If my mother had chosen to abort me though, that would be okay, because it would have been her choice because it was her that would have to go through the pain of child birth.

My birth mother could have easily aborted me, though. I was an accident - a bastard. There was no planning to get pregnant with me at all. It wasn't like they were teenagers, though, they were adults and my birth mother already had a son before hand. However, there was no place for me to fit in their lives and honestly, if I were her, I would have aborted me.

The point is though, it was, or should have been, her choice to give birth to me. Just because I am adopted doesn't mean I think that if a mom doesn't want to keep the baby that she should just give birth to it and adopt it out. I understand how getting pregnant can change a women's life, for worse or for better.

The women are the ones that have to go through the trials of child birth, meaning that they have say whether or not they go through it. Honestly, if I were my birth mother, I would have aborted me.