Upon my delivery into this world, my mother relinquished me. She was told I would be better off with strangers that were married. It was the Baby Scoop Era and unwed mothers were shamed for having sex before marriage and getting pregnant. When I found my biological father, he told me they dated in college for about a year. He said he was sent to Vietnam in the spring of 65. I was born in January of 66. She never told him about me. 
To remove her shame, I was whisked away to a new family and they were told I was a blank slate. My birth certificate was changed, I was given a new name, and all access to my family was permanently severed. 
As an adoptee, I lived with disenfranchised grief and not being true to who I am. I did that for so long, I believed adoption hadn’t affected me. During reunion with my biological family, I recalled what my mother had told my adoptive cousin years ago when I had done my first search after it was legal. When my cousin spoke to her, my mother said she didn’t want her husband or daughters to know. If I tried to find her, she would get a restraining order. My mind couldn’t handle the pain and I erased that from my memory. I lost my grip on reality. All I had ever wanted was to find my mother and family. The thought of being rejected by my own mother was too much for me to bear. 
It was at this difficult time that I started searching for how to heal. In my search to help myself, I became a kundalini yoga instructor, reiki master, and TIYT, Trauma-Informed Yoga Therapist. I started writing as The Adopted Chameleon. I offered yoga to adoptees, I started The Adopted Chameleons Facebook group and started co-leading The Adoptees Connect Tulsa group. I did podcasts and wrote blogs and articles. I also taught at adoptee-centric retreats and summits. My goal now is to continue educating people about the trauma of adoption and to help those affected by it. The techniques I have learned have helped me to become aware of my authentic self. Being true to ourselves is how we heal. After all, when we heal ourselves, we heal the world.