Our birthmothers come from all different ages and backgrounds. We’ve served women who range in age from 13 to 42. At Sunny Ridge, we have a great respect for our birthmothers—for they love enough to give their baby life.
Below is a Personal Essay written by one of our birthmothers and included with her college application.
In order to become better acquainted with me one must travel on a bittersweet journey full of change, acceptance and growth. Entering my freshman year of high school I was the typical "high profile teen": well rounded, academically solid, a basketball and soccer athlete, a member of the student council, and part of the church youth group leadership team, although spiritually tepid. This was me, the Chicago suburban kid who faced a huge lesson about consequences and growing up.
At 16 years old, nearing the end of my sophomore year, I became a statistic. I was one of the million 15-17 year old girls pregnant each year in America. I found myself terrified, shocked, hopeless, and searching for answers. I can’t fully describe my emotions as I walked through the halls of high school and past the basketball courts carrying a child; knowing I was now a mother and needed to make a decision. While I know many teenagers grapple with the option of abortion, this was never a choice I considered. I cannot fully explain this personal decision, but from the beginning I already had a sense of my child, and my love for her was growing every day. Ending it all? No. She was too real. So I was left with two options; parenting or adoption. Through months of counseling with both pastoral and psychological counselors, my answer became clear. Now, the girl with lukewarm spirituality had gained some spiritual strength. My "self" annexed the suffix "less", and my baby easily became the "more." And more is what I wanted her to have. More than a young girl without a completed education could give.
After choosing my daughter’s adoptive parents, the grieving and letting go process began (one that will last a lifetime). Hannah was born, and five days after her birth, she was placed with her new family.
A year has nearly passed after those agonizing months. I clearly see myself as a young woman of 18 who knows her goals and one of them is to earn a college degree. My situation has laid a foundation on which I hope to base a career. As a birthparent, I have been given the opportunity to meet many adoptive children and birth moms and I desire to use this knowledge and experience in the future. My future is my hope, and my daughter is my encouragement.
