harper p

Howdy! My name is Harper, and I'm a UGA student from Athens Georgia. Kind of. I actually wasn't born in the state, or any of The States, for that matter. When I was about six months old, I was adopted from Russia. Growing up, I was always aware that I was adopted, and it didn't bother me one bit. I loved my international family pieced together by fate and God. Honestly, the “hardest” part was the confusion I felt when certain questions were asked or statements were said. Questions like “who's your ‘real’ mom” never made sense to me. My mother is my real mother, even though she didn't give brith to me, it's never been any different than if she had. And then there were the jokes. The "insult" 'you're adopted' always left me confused. So what if I was? so what if anyone was? why is that funny or offensive? not to mention the slew of “Russian spy” jokes I would get from classmates and teachers alike. I thought one day I would grow up and “get it” … spoiler alert, I am still lost. A similar confusion has followed me to other topics as well. Growing up, I never understood heavy topics such as discrimination, etc. I always assumed one day I would be mature enough to understand why there are people who hate others because of their skin or sex or who they love. I am almost 20 years old and still feel this deep confusion. There is so much to love about our fellow humans, why do we ignore that and result to hate instead? I have accepted the fact that I will never understand, and I dont want to.