Oh The Places You’ll Go – What We Have Accomplished Since Placing

“There is nothing
more powerful or radical or stunningly beautiful than a woman who chooses to
rebuild her life day after day. No matter how many pieces there are to pick up
or how many mistakes she must spin into gold.”

– Carol Alwill Leyba

Placing a child is life changing in a number of ways. It can
put your past, present, and future into a whole new perspective. After placing,
I remember sitting down with my counselor and talking with her about the things
I wanted to do with my life and the goals I wanted to set for myself. I felt
like I had now been given a second shot at getting it right and I didn’t want
to mess it up. I was 19 and in college when I got pregnant and I was devastated
by the possibility that I wouldn’t be able to finish college and get my degree.
I had worked so hard to get where I was. Placing my daughter allowed me to
refocus and I set a goal for myself that I wanted to graduate in 4 years. I
wanted my daughter to be proud of me. I wanted her to see that I made something
of my life.

In 2014 I achieved that goal and graduated with my BA in
Psychology. It was one of the best days of my life. But do you want to know
what the best part was? My daughter was there with her parents. In fact she was
waving at me while I walked across the stage and was handed my diploma. I felt
a flood of emotion as my daughter watched me. She was able to witness me taking
the next step in bettering my future. It was a full circle moment for me.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that
her parents understood the significance of that day and showed up for me. And
they have continued to show up for me over the years and have celebrated my
accomplishments.

Since then I have continued to set and achieve goals so that
one day she might be proud that I am her birthmother. I found my passion in
life and have pursued a career in the adoption field. There may come a day when
she asks me about my decision, and I hope that I have a long list of
accomplishments to show her what I was able to do because of it. I obviously
made the decision because I wanted her to have a better life, but I was also
able to better my own life.

Here are the achievements of other birthmothers in our
Healing Hearts group who picked themselves up and achieved great things after
placing.

“I am a little over 1
years clean and sober.”

“I am a much better
parent now for both of my children. SO much so that I have finally regained
custody of my first born son who is now 11.”

“I got out of a 12
year abusive relationship.”

“Over the past 2
years I have overcome a lot of obstacles and I finally have my life on the
right path.”

“Now, 8 years later,
I have been married for 4 years and I have a son. He is 1 and I couldn’t be happier.
I was given a second chance.”

And those are just a few…Isn’t it amazing what one can
accomplish when given the chance?

By: Ali D.

Written by Jason Granillo