Normal. We all spell it the same way but we give it different meanings. Me being a middle child of 15 is never considered of being in a “normal family”. My parents have been involved in foster care and have adopted children in need for the past 20 years.

I was the first. I was never involved in foster care but that doesn’t mean my biological parents were perfect. I currently have three half blood brothers I will never know and an older sister I will never be able to ask for advice.

Growing up, my parents have always told me that being adopted was never something I should be ashamed of. With that being said whenever I held my head high I would get shot down with rude, unnecessary comments about how “normal” to me was different from how other people thought normal should be. Little by little it tore my confidence down.

In seventh grade a project in Family Consumer Science was assigned; we were told to write down the traits we’ve gotten from our parents. Not knowing my own biological parents I found this project impossible. While I explained my reasoning to our adviser I heard a side comment from a student that struck me. He said, “That must mean no one wanted her.”

No one ever wants to hear that they’re not loved, nor wanted. I went home crying that day because of something I was told I should’ve been proud of was actually being negatively held against me.

Getting older I’ve grown and matured about what has happened. Also, I have come to realize a few things. Everything I’ve completed in my short lifetime wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for this.

My parents might not be blood, but that only shows me that you don’t have to physically have a child to call them your own. Being a mother doesn’t consist of having a child but actually raising one.

I am loved. These two people that just so happened to want a little girl ran into someone who didn’t want hers. Yes, my biological mother most likely considers me a mistake but I’m not. My parents raised me to believe that everything happens for a reason. I will be the first person in my household to go to college. I am proud to say that a situation I had no control over made me who I am today.

I have five brothers, eight sisters, a mother and a father who love me unconditionally no matter the circumstances, a few friends that support me. I can’t picture things being any different. I’m completely comfortable in my own skin and where I stand in the world as an individual. A Jones.