The Park Blog
May 1, 2026
Our 2025 summer intern, Rosie, reflects on cultural camps, adoptee community, and what it means to find belonging while doing meaningful work at The Park.
April 27, 2026
Are you an adoptee who’s also neurodivergent? Explore how adoption and neurodivergence intersect — with real voices, honest language, and practical support.
April 20, 2026
Returning to China with my husband and family—standing in places I’d only heard of and visiting the city where my story began—was an unforgettable journey that brought my past into the present.
March 31, 2026
For Morgan, returning to Jiangxi Province for her 30th birthday was a journey of reflection and rediscovery—one that brought new meaning to a place that has always been part of her story.
March 5, 2026
Learn the facts about international adoptee citizenship, documentation, and legal status. Clear guidance to help families and adoptees navigate misinformation with confidence.
December 9, 2025
Attending Adopteen in Colorado offered a long-sought sense of belonging and understanding, providing a compassionate space where the complex emotions of adoption—ones that had long complicated her sense of identity—finally felt met with empathy rather than explanation.
December 9, 2025
Attending her first Beyond Adopteen Connection Weekend in Chicago was a full-circle moment—reuniting with a community that has shaped her since the very first event, while welcoming new faces and rediscovering the deep sense of belonging that has always made Adopteen so meaningful.
November 28, 2025
Cooking can be a doorway into the stories and traditions an adoptee inherits, and to wrap up NAAM 2025, Mongolian adoptee Meghan will be cooking Tsuivan—a hearty noodle dish that connects ingredients to identity, place, and belonging.
November 25, 2025
For adoptees, holidays and milestone days often carry a quiet complexity—moments of joy and connection that can also stir deeper feelings and unspoken questions that sit just beneath the surface.
November 24, 2025
Join Alex and his friend Isa as they prepare arepas—a cherished Colombian staple and a simple, meaningful way to connect with birth culture through food.
November 21, 2025
Abandoned at a train station in China at 10 weeks old and adopted into a Caucasian family in the United States, Madi grew up hyper-aware of how her appearance and cultural upbringing set her apart—leaving her unsure of where she fit.
November 19, 2025
Beginning a birth parent search is a deeply personal journey, and this post gathers key steps, considerations, and resources to help you navigate it thoughtfully and at your own pace.
November 18, 2025
Food often serves as a tangible entry point to birth culture, and in this post, Ethiopian adoptee Eli cooks Doro Wat—Ethiopia’s flavorful national dish—as a way to explore his heritage.
November 17, 2025
Inspired by the unanswered childhood question of where she came from, adoptee Kailu found her calling in midwifery—drawn to the very mother-baby bond her own story left unresolved.
November 12, 2025
For many international adoptees, connecting with birth culture is a lifelong process of learning and rediscovery—and through a nationwide survey, adoptees shared their experiences of pride, curiosity, distance, and belonging.
November 11, 2025
This week, join Sevzhan as he cooks Lozova Sarmi—a traditional Bulgarian dish and a hands-on, meaningful way to reconnect with birth culture through food.
November 10, 2025
In Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, a sweeping historical-fiction novel, two half sisters in 1700s Ghana diverge into separate lineages—one remaining near Cape Coast, the other uprooted to America through the Transatlantic Slave Trade—tracing a multi-generational story of culture, oppression, and empowerment.
November 5, 2025
Books give language to feelings that are hard to describe, and for adoptees, reading stories that feel familiar can be a powerful way to connect—to each other, to their roots, and to themselves.
November 4, 2025
This week, join Chinese adoptees Maddie and Olivia as they cook Zhajiangmian—a simple noodle dish and a delicious way to reconnect with their heritage.
November 3, 2025
Many adoptees are reclaiming November—reframing National Adoption Awareness Month as National Adoptee Awareness Month to shift the focus toward their own voices, experiences, and identities.
January 17, 2025
Amid renewed concerns about citizenship, our blog post reassures international adoptees that they are U.S. citizens and walks through the steps to confirm, obtain, or update a Certificate of Citizenship—an essential, often free, and permanent document worth securing now.
January 2, 2025
Follow along as the Sell family revisits China—retracing their adoption journey, exploring iconic landmarks, and creating new memories that have deepened their appreciation for both the country and each other.
December 31, 2024
After years of anticipating a promised return to her birth country, Emily shares her deeply personal experience on CCAI’s Hunan Province Heritage Tour—drinking in every detail of China’s food, culture, landscapes, and people.
December 18, 2024
After years of avoiding the emotional weight of adoption and a difficult season of confronting early childhood abandonment, Summer attended Adopteen Washington D.C. hoping to find answers about her adoption story—and discovered far more than she expected.
December 10, 2024
Despite her introverted nature and some last-minute hesitation, Zoe said yes to her sister’s spontaneous invitation to join the Beyond Adopteen trip in Colorado—and it turned out to be worth it.
December 4, 2024
As adoptees enter adulthood, major life milestones take on added significance—prompting deeper reflections on identity, belonging, and how their adoption story weaves into the life they are building.
November 27, 2024
As adoptees enter adulthood, major life milestones take on added significance—prompting deeper reflections on identity, belonging, and how their adoption story weaves into the life they are building.
November 22, 2024
Adolescence is an especially complex time for transracial adoptees, who navigate identity conflict, racism, and the paradox of belonging—but these challenges can also spark a powerful awakening toward self-acceptance and pride in their heritage.
November 15, 2024
Middle school brings heightened peer influence, exposure to racism and bullying, and the first stirrings of deeper identity questions—making it a particularly formative and complex time for adoptees.
November 13, 2024
For transracial adoptees, ages six to ten mark a pivotal shift as the world expands beyond home—bringing new peer influences, school experiences, and a deepening awareness of identity that parents alone can no longer shape.
November 8, 2024
In the first five years of life, an adoptee’s sense of identity is shaped almost entirely by their parents—making early experiences and messages about adoption profoundly influential, even before a child can fully understand them.
November 5, 2024
Unlike biological children, adoptees often navigate identity development from a blank slate—with little knowledge of their origins, family history, or birth culture—making their journey of self-discovery uniquely complex and layered.
November 3, 2022
Adoption is not the most important fact about me, but it has been one of the most impactful aspects of my identity journey.Â
I was adopted from Zhejiang Province, China at 18 months old by my amazing family – my mom, older brother, two older sisters, and little sister – in New Mexico!
December 10, 2021
When the Stop Asian Hate movement surfaced in Spring 2021, what had felt like a solid sense of identity quickly gave way to feelings of detachment—leading her, shortly after, to The Park as a Digital Marketing Intern.
May 22, 2021
Ahead of a panel conversation on transracial adoption and identity, Asian adoptee panelists share what APIDA Heritage Month means to them personally.
May 17, 2021
Food can be an amazing way to explore and connect with birth culture. Have you tried cooking any dishes from your birth country cuisine?
May 17, 2021
“It takes courage to grow and become who you really are.” – E.E. Cummings
April 22, 2021
“Looking towards the positive is an act of bravery. Dare to hope. Dare to believe in good.”
February 24, 2021
For Black History Month, The Park sat down with Asiah, Fikirte, and Mercedes to reflect on their experiences as transracial Black adoptees—exploring race, culture, mental health, and the power of community in America.
June 2, 2020
Korean American transnational adoptee and Top Chef winner Kristen Kish joined Adopteen Virtual Camp 2020 for an honest conversation about owning your identity, embracing the unknown, and giving yourself grace to grow—on your own terms.
