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Adoptive & Foster Families

Taproot issue 39 - February 2001

My Adoption

By Jimmy Keola-Scott

My name is Jimmy, and I was taken from my first adoptive family at age four because of abuse. For the next 10 years I was in and out of foster homes and institutions. Finally, at age 14, I began visiting a family that had Korean and black kids. I am black and Korean, so this meant a lot to me. Each time I would visit them, I wished I could stay because when I was with them, I felt like a normal person instead of a freak. All the kids in the family are different races and adopted, and they all have challenges to work on, so I didn’t feel so alone with all my problems.

My new mom was a single parent who already had nine kids, but they talked it over a lot and decided they wanted to adopt me. Then came many first things for me; going to a public school, trying out for a Little League team, having a daily chore to do, going to a family reunion…I also had to learn to live in a family, which I could not remember doing, and it was really hard.

There were little things I hadn’t been doing, like picking up my clothes and turning off the lights at night. So many things had been done for me when I was in institutions. I just wanted to watch TV. But my mom wouldn’t let me. She tried to get me to do chores and do things with my talents and do my homework. Well, she tried.

And it was hard learning to live with people all the time. I had been used to having people take care of me on eight-hour shifts, and now I had to stay with the same people 24 hours. My mom tried to get us to work things out. There were, and still are, problems, but my mom says that if we’re working on them, we’re headed in the right direction and that’s the main thing.One of my sisters who was adopted the year before I came to the family doesn’t even like me, but I keep trying to be nice to her, and my mom says that someday she thinks we will be good friends because we’re so much alike.I have been able to do many things because I was adopted. All I have ever wanted to do in my life was play football, and I got to play on Little League teams. Then I lettered on my high school team. I also have four black brothers who are adopted and they have showed me how to do my hair and dress cool. I also like to play basketball with them in the basketball court our family built in the backyard.From having a family, I got to go on my first vacation, and was able to get a real job. I’ve worked at a movie complex, Zuka Juice, and as a food bagger. I also got a paper route the first summer I lived here. I have even been on trips with the Boy Scouts. Last spring, I graduated from high school, and was accepted into the Navy.These things might not be important to others, but they meant a lot to me. If I had stayed in institutions, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do them. Being adopted allowed me these opportunities. I’m grateful for my family, because it’s been really tough sometimes, and there was a lot I needed to do to get my act together. My mom never said she would send me back, and she always tried to show me she loved me, even when I messed up so many times and wasn’t sure she did.I’m so glad to have a family so that when I get leave from the Navy, I have a place to call home and I can go there to visit. Wouldn’t it be awful if I didn’t have a place to go?Now I have plans for my future. I still have problems, but at least I’m hoping for a good life. Before I had no hope. I didn’t even think there was a future for me. My family took a chance on me, and now I have plans to become a productive and responsible person.

I hope that all kids who need homes are able to find a good family. Kids need families who will help them feel like they belong, and give them a chance to make something of their lives, just as I have done.

Fall 2000 Adoptalk