Hello, my name is Ivan, a Ukrainian-American, my parents are Egyptian-Americans. I have two brothers from Ukraine as well, both are blood brothers. All three of us where adopted from Kramatorsk, Ukraine, and my parents are from Cairo, Egypt. I was adopted when I was 5 years old, my parents had to get me a Ukrainian-Russian translator because Kramatorsk is very close to the Russian boarder so I was grown up to speak a Ukrainian-Russian hybrid language. I was a native Ukrainian speaker with Coptic orthodox Egyptian culture that could not speak English, you could imagine it was really hard to fit in as a kid, due to the fact that I could not speak English and I had ADHD/ADD. I was always bullied for my speaking and writing skills, I remember kids in my grade would always ask me to spell words and when I spelled it wrong I would get giggled at and out casted. It did took me about 11th grade when I fully could understand the English language, but even know I still struggle with it. I never really got to fit in school, so that made me a trouble maker. My parents put me into military school, when I was first went there, it was like a living hell, it was so bad and I hated every second of it. Soon after I was in military school, my father past away, it was the most painful feeling I have ever felt, is destroyed me, I was really quite after that. A bit of time after that, I joined some of the community's at school, they had a really big Ukrainian community there and an even bigger adoptee community there. No one really understood how hard it was to fit in especially coming from a different culture and background, but my friends there from both community's understood, and they also helped me push passed my my father death. I remember I was talking to one of my friends, he was adopted from South Korea, he asked me "how do people react whenever you tell them your adopted?", and it did not even take me a second to think about it, they always say something like "awww, I feel so bad for you, are you okay?", "wow that's crazy, so like, how do you see your parents", and "that really sucks, I'm sorry". My friend also got that also the time. I never understood why people said that, I never saw it as a big deal. People think that all kids that are adopted think about is that there adopted, that's not true. I never think about it unless someone talks to me about it, they always ask "do you see your adoption parents as your real ones", and just say "of course". My adopted parents are my real parents, I can not see it any other way. As far as biological parents go, I know they where ramped drug users as well as alcoholics, I don't have anything against them, they did the right thing by giving us up. I don't really care to ever see them, I just don't really see the use of it, there is nothing for me to gain or lose if I where to see them. as far as I am concerned I already have my real parents. I just pray to god that they are okay and they are doing well. When I get a little older I want to adopted and give a child a chance and an opportunity, that is one of my biggest goal in my life.