There are two topics from this story that I have felt pretty strongly about, especially in the past four years. I'll start off by saying that I always wanted to study the effects of racism on minorities. As an undergrad, I toyed with basing my thesis on studying young girls and their thoughts of body image and/or self esteem compared to their white peers.
I wanted to do something like this.
When I watched that first little girl falter when asked which doll looked most like her after she'd already answered that the white doll was the "nice" doll, my heart broke. I wanted to delve into this subject further, but as you may know, it's nearly impossible to get research approved when children are the main subjects. It didn't help that I was a young white undergraduate that sought permission to talk to elementary age black children about racial issues. I let that idea fall by the wayside, but it is still something that touches me every time I read about it.
This is the reason why I thought of this study when I read the entry posted from Kenya. Kristen blogged about how the orphan she met asked to touch her hair and her skin because she had never touched a white person before. She wrote about showing the children pictures of her own kids and how they excitedly looked at them proclaiming "so white!" I realize it's a totally different scenario because these kids grew up in Kenya, not New York, but it's still shocking to see our world's races so out of "touch" (pardon the pun) with one another.
The other idea I want to throw out there today is the issue of adoption. When I was younger, I joked that I wanted adopted babies from all corners of the world because I just couldn't decide who was cutest. Of course, I was planning to adopt to avoid being one of those women who have freakishly frightening birth stories. Eww, giving birth...Yuck! Anyway, I grew up and the possibility of having my own children became more real to me and I realized it was something I really, really wanted one day. Along with that realization was the ever-present fear that this dream may not happen. I've never had any reason to believe I may have trouble getting pregnant, but like I've told you before- I'm a slight total hypochondriac. Anyway, I truly do hope to have children of my own one day, but if I can't (or even if I can) I know there are plenty of children around the world and in this country who need our help. I love the idea of adopting. What a wonderful thing to offer a child- a future!
Captain J's family just recently adopted little Aster (seen below) and welcomed her into the family last year. We got to meet our new cousin around Christmas time and I fell in love with her big brown eyes and infectious laughter.
She has been such a blessing to them as they have been for her.
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed stepping into my head this afternoon. It's a crazy jumbled up mess at times, but I hope you were able to follow along. If you want to continue to read about Kristen's life, click HERE or go to the Blogs I Love page on my sidebar and click the link entitled "We Are That Family."
Thanks for stopping by--
Mrs. K
1 comments:
Yes Aster has been a blessing in all our lives! Kacy you need to ask Aunt Susie about that blog I was telling you about , the families that have adopted. She showed me once and it was really neat. But I can't remember what it was or how to get there. Miss you!
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