OAR #30 (my first!)

Do you remember the first time you heard about open adoption?

I vaguely remember hearing, when I was 7 or 8 years old, that I had an older cousin who was adopted. I didn't quite grasp the concept back then, though, and I remember being confused because he looked so much like his adoptive mother and father. I never asked any questions, and never really gave it a second thought.

I'm a little ashamed to admit this (haha) but I think the first time I really heard about open adoption was on 16 & Pregnant (yes, I used to watch that show...gah). It was Catelynn and Tyler's story and once again, I didn't give it too much thought. I was pretty indifferent. I remember crying when she was looking at her baby and crying in the hospital, but I only looked at the surface layer of it. Honestly, I remember ignorantly thinking, "why are they going through with this if they're so sad?" (I'm also ashamed to admit that). I'm trying to wrack my brain here, but that's really the first time I can remember hearing about open adoption in so much depth. I did go on to watch their story on Teen Mom (the first season - I can't really stomach any of their stories any more) and I learned more and more about it through that series. Granted, I know it's a bit made-for-TV, but their story has a lot of similarities not only to mine, but to others that I've read and heard about.

So, as uninteresting as that may be, that was the first example of open adoption I have been exposed to!