Dear Future COLAGEr
Dear Future COLAGER,
When I was little, I thought that everyone had two moms. So to learn that this wasn't "the norm" was a shocker. In elementary school, when I spoke about my family, I often received strange looks and blank stares. Some of my closest friends are still confused about my family. Naturally, I was ecstatic to come to COLAGE, and to meet kids just like me. I soon realized that there are many different family situations that COLAGERS have. This one's mine.
As you read before I have two moms, but it gets a lot more complicated. You see, when my sister was born, my biological mother was with her ex-girlfriend. This woman adopted my sister. A few years later, they broke up. Both of them have shared custody of my sister. When my sister was five, I was born. My mom was a single mother at this point. A few months later, my sister's other mom got married. When I was eight, my mom got married to my other mom. So, I have two moms, and my sister has four moms. To everyone else, this is perplexing, but for me, it's ordinary.
So yeah, that's my family. It's really something. When I was in elementary school, I remember all of the times I had to make Father's Day cards for my Grandpa. I would tell my teachers that I had no dad, and they made me make a card or present anyway. These days I have to act like it's "no big deal" that my mom says my "aunt" is picking me up to freaking orthodontist to avoid "confusion." Like how crazy is that? I know these don't seem that bad, but all the "no big deal" things like that can really get under your skin. Why is it so hard to understand that some people have families don't fit in some "normal" box? I hope the future is a place where you can be open about your family.
Future COLAGER, I hope you live in a world where it doesn't matter what your gender, race, family, sexual orientation is, or who you are. I hope your COLAGE experience teaches you to fight for what you believe in, and to love yourself - just like it has for me. In the meantime, I'm still figuring out how to do all that.
-Anonymous