Adopted Black Girl

Do you know me?

Like… do you truly know me?

I’ve been asking myself that lately—standing in the mirror, sitting with my thoughts, really checking in. And if I’m being honest, the harder question has been:

Do I know myself through others eyes or my own?

If you’ve been on this page for a while, you know my faith is a big part of my journey. It’s shaping me into the woman I’m becoming. But what people don’t always talk about is how faith can feel like breaking before it feels like building. It’s pruning. It’s stretching. It’s uncomfortable.

And I wonder…

Have you ever felt uncomfortable in your own story?

Have you ever asked questions you couldn’t find answers to?

Wondered who you were meant to be… where you came from… why people leave… why others come?

Have you ever wanted people to understand you—

but realized you never slowed down to understand yourself?

Life will do that. Adoption will do that. Kinship care will definitely do that.

Kinship taught me how to read a room.

How to observe.

How to connect the dots.

But it didn’t teach me how to hold it all together when everything inside of me started to fall apart. That part—I had to learn on my own.

I had to learn that chaos doesn’t always mean I’m failing.

Sometimes it just means something is shifting.

I had to learn that structure isn’t restriction—it’s pruning.

It’s the thing that brings clarity… even if it also brings tears.

These past few weeks have been heavy.

They’ve been quiet.

They’ve been lonely.

They’ve been necessary.

I’ve tapped into a level of focus I didn’t know I had.

A level of forgiveness I didn’t think I could reach.

And a deeper trust in God than I’ve ever experienced.

I’m also learning this:

Everyone won’t understand the message of adoption.

Everyone won’t understand kinship care.

But for those who do…

I want to show up for you.

So if you’ve ever felt lost…

If you’ve ever sat with questions that didn’t have answers…

If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable in your own skin or your own story…

You’re not alone.

Because one thing I do know is this:

At some point you find a way.

And eventually—

you find your way.

From my writing corner with love,

Teisha