Senior Violeta Sedillo: Being an adopted child
Senior Violeta Sedillo has always known she was adopted, as her mom has always been open to sharing and discussing that part of Sedillo鈥檚 identity. 鈥淢y mom told me from a very early age, and this has just always been a part of me,鈥 she said.
When Sedillo鈥檚 mom decided to adopt as a single parent, she researched and explored different routes in the adoption process, all of which led to dead ends. Eventually, one of the programs told her about a newborn. 鈥淭hey showed her a picture of a little girl in Guatemala,鈥 Sedillo said. 鈥淲hen she learned about me, she started flying over for a lot of visits around when I was 4 months old. She visited a lot while she was getting background checks, and then when I was around 8 months old, she finally brought me home.鈥
Though raised by a single mother, Sedillo has always been surrounded by a lot of family. 鈥淢y mom had a huge 鈥榳elcome home鈥 party when she brought me home with all my extended family,鈥 she said. 鈥淓verybody was there to greet me and meet me, and it was really sweet.鈥 The support from her extended family, who has always lived close by, continued throughout her childhood. 鈥淪ince my mom is a single parent, having to take care of a kid and also go work was a lot,鈥 she said. 鈥淪he relied on a lot of aunts and grandmas to help out with me when I was younger. My grandma lived close to us, and that was really helpful for my mom when she needed time to go to work or run errands.鈥
Sedillo also gathers with her extended family for many holiday traditions. They often celebrate multiple cultures through a blend of American and Mexican dishes on the Fourth of July. 鈥淓very Fourth of July, we would go over to my aunt鈥檚, where we鈥檇 have huge parties with all our relatives and have a huge feast,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he Fourth of July was an amazing and fun time for us because all the cousins would run around while the adults were laughing and having a good time.鈥
When she was younger, Sedillo struggled with understanding her identity, having questions about who she was and where she was from due to not knowing anything about her biological parents. Over time, she became more conscious of the difference between her family and her friends鈥 conventional ones. 鈥淚t was more of an internal struggle with understanding that I鈥檓 not limited to just one side of my culture and accepting that there are definitely more sides and one doesn鈥檛 have to be more important than the other,鈥 she said. 鈥淎s I grow up, it鈥檚 been more like 鈥榶eah, I鈥檓 adopted鈥攖his is a cool part of me now.鈥欌
Sedillo鈥檚 comfort in her identity has grown since she was younger. 鈥淚鈥檝e definitely become more secure in who I am,鈥 she said. 鈥淣ow I know that even though I don鈥檛 know my biological family, I still am a part of a family and community that have helped make me who I am.鈥
Despite the unknowns about her biological parents, Sedillo鈥檚 mom has always encouraged open conversations about the challenges she faced with reconciling her adoption and identity. 鈥淭hese conversations helped me tackle questions I had about myself, like 鈥榃hy was I given away?鈥 or 鈥業s there anything wrong with me?鈥欌 she said. Even if her mother didn鈥檛 have concrete answers, she listened to Sedillo鈥檚 concerns. 鈥淪he would talk through with me what emotions I have and how to be comfortable with those questions, along with comforting me and making sure that I know that my family is here and is very loving and accepting,鈥 she said.