Lily Morris

I was adopted from Guilin, China when I was 11 months old by my mom, who decided she wanted a baby even though she wasn’t married. My aunt, Jean, travelled with my mom to get me.

Although I don’t remember anything from these early days, I have been told the story of my adoption throughout my life. We laugh when we reminisce about our first days together, especially my mom letting me fall off the bed!

Since my adoption, I have gone back to China two additional times. First, was when I was 10. I went on a heritage tour that included meeting other adoptees, seeing many tourist sights, and culminating with a visit to my orphanage and meeting my foster parents. I thoroughly enjoyed my first glimpses of China and reuniting with my foster parents, but at the end of the trip I was certainly ready to return to my home in the United States.

My second trip to China was when I was 11 to bring home my niece.  My aunt adopted, Cate, and I was thrilled to accompany her and my family members witnessing the adoption process first hand.

Regularly, I contemplate what my birth family is doing in China.  Who are they, what is their life like, do I have any siblings, do they think about me, and will I ever meet them?  My mom and I attempted to find my birth family, but were unsuccessful. I continue to hope that one day I will have the opportunity to meet them and share our stories.

Today, my life is busy with sports, piano and schoolwork.  I have several friends who were also adopted from China and I think it was good that I got to grow up knowing that I was not alone living this unique life.

I enjoy hanging out with my diverse group of friends.  I warn new friends that my mom looks different than me.  I often see others glance our direction and think they wonder how we came about.  But one thing I know for sure is our family is built on love even though our DNA doesn’t match.