Blog Post #1

Exploring Gratitude Through Adoption

One thing that's changed for me by virtue of being a sibling through adoption is my awareness of children without families. After adopting my little brother Oscar, my family opted to take a tour of Ilsan, an orphanage in South Korea associated with our agency.

Of course, gratitude and happiness were all we could think about, as we had just acquired a wonderful new addition to our growing family. But as I reflect on the entirety of my experience in South Korea when adopting Oscar, I often return to the moments spent at Ilsan. Although Oscar now had a permanent home, the kids we saw at Ilsan didn’t.

Adoption is a big change for families, and no one expects every family to take on such a responsibility. However, I found that helping these kids was possible in ways that were vastly different from straight-up adoption. From then on, I decided to collect toys for my birthdays and donate them to the kids at Ilsan.

As the holiday season wraps up, I find myself unbelievably grateful for the opportunities I’ve had while still recognizing that not all are as fortunate. Small gestures of kindness can have big impacts, and for the children at Ilsan, I hope it did.