A few summers ago, I was sitting next to an adolescent male participating in our agency's Digital Storytelling workshop as he was narrating parts of his adoption story to me.  This youth and his family had accessed our post-adoption services throughout the years, but at this time this adoptee’s needs, connected to his adoption story, had begun to manifest in new ways.  This once young boy whose story was riddled with trauma and neglect now sat before me understanding his story in a whole new way. And, although he had been adopted for years into a loving, stable home, this young man's development allowed him to create a new layer for him to discover, process, and integrate his story. 

 As we worked together to create his Digital Storytelling narrative, this young man shared he used to collect ketchup packets when he was young and stuff them in his pockets to ensure he would have something to eat later because he never knew when he would eat next.  He then began to detail even more graphic parts of his story and grieve the moments of trauma, loss, and pain associated with his story.  And for me, what I knew about adoption based on my research and training came to life once again, demonstrating how a child’s view of adoption changes over time creating opportunities and challenges for many youths to now reintegrate and make sense of their past.  This boy’s ketchup packets had taken on a whole new narrative for him as an adolescent and having supportive services to help process his new awareness, emotions, and recall of his trauma history were vital and helpful. This young man’s story has stuck with me and is the impetus that drives me to create awareness around the complex, lifelong experience of adoption. Hence, my heart here is to share with others more about adoption, its complexity, and create both a peaked curiosity and interest in an area of social work for which I have developed a great passion.