My name is Lauren Clemenger. I am ten years old. I am adopted and I am proud of it.
The first time I heard negative things about adoption was in kindergarten. I didn't bother telling them I was adopted. I didn't feel like it, but I did feel sorry for them.
My sister came home when I was in grade three. The children asked the teacher at circle time what adoption was. Angus said he had adopted a turtle from the zoo in Georgia and someone else said it's about cleaning up ditches. My friend Camden said adoption was special and only about children. Everyone was so excited to meet Kate, so I finally told my friends I was adopted too. When the children asked the teacher to tell them which answer was correct, she said nothing. She didn't say that paying money to feed turtles was really called sponsorship and cleaning up ditches was about caring for the environment.
I did feel sad that day, because she didn't tell the truth. The kids said Camden and I didn't know anything about adoption. That's when the bullying started for both of us. From then on, we were supposedly the dumb ones about adoption and many other issues as well. I did have one friend ask my parents if they would adopt her. She's a latchkey kid. What I learned that day is that schools need healthy books explaining adoption.