Being Adopted

Being Adopted documents the nuanced emotions and experiences of adult adoptees, as captured through three words. Adoptees were asked:

If you could choose any 3 words to describe your experience as an adoptee, which ones would you choose?

(This project is ongoing. If you are an adult adoptee, you can participate here)
Word
# of times used
Lonely 40
Alone 26
Confusing 18
Loved 18
Lost 15
Misunderstood 13
Loss 11
Grief 10
Angry 9
Complicated 9
Confused 8
Love 8
Sad 8
Painful 7
Abandoned 6
Anger 6
Different 6
Disconnected 6
Invisible 6
Isolating 6
Trauma 6
Alien 5
Broken 5
Healing 5
Isolated 5
Longing 5
Rejected 5
Complex 4
Curious 4
Erased 4
Outsider 4
Rejection 4
Secret 4
Traumatic 4
Unwanted 4
Afraid 3
Belonging 3
Bewildering 3
Chosen 3
Dissociated 3
Emotional 3
Family 3
Found 3
Hiraeth 3
Insecure 3
Isolation 3
Lies 3
Loneliness 3
Loving 3
Misfit 3
Mistake 3
Overwhelming 3
Pleaser 3
Sadness 3
Scared 3
Special 3
Unknown 3
Unlovable 3
Unloved 3
Void 3
Abused 2
Alienated 2
Alienating 2
Amazing 2
Change 2
Contradiction 2
Determined 2
Disappointed 2
Duality 2
Emptiness 2
Exhausting 2
Floating 2
Fortunate 2
Fragmented 2
Fraught 2
Gaslit 2
Grateful 2
Hidden 2
Hurt 2
Identity 2
Lifelong 2
Lucky 2
Maddening 2
Other 2
Pain 2
Perplexing 2
Questioning 2
Rage 2
Replaceable 2
Resilience 2
Shame 2
Shattered 2
Silenced 2
Solitary 2
Struggle 2
Surreal 2
Survival 2
Survivor 2
Traumatized 2
Traumatizing 2
Unfair 2
Unique 2
Unreal 2
Unworthy 2
Why 2
Worthless 2
Abandonment 1
Abuse 1
Abusive 1
Acceptance 1
Accepted 1
Adapt (At Any Cost) 1
Adaptable 1
Adaptable (Compliant) 1
Alien (Not Fitting In) 1
Alienation 1
Alive 1
Ambiguous 1
And 1
Annngerrrrr 1
Anxiety 1
Apotropaic 1
Assimilated 1
Attached 1
Beautiful 1
Betrayal 1
Bewildered 1
Bittersweet 1
Brave 1
Bravery 1
Breakable 1
Bullshit 1
Bumbling 1
Burden 1
Cared For And About 1
Chamelian 1
Changed 1
Chaotic 1
Chimerical 1
Clear 1
Clueless 1
Compliance 1
Conflicted 1
Conformity 1
Confusion 1
Courageous 1
Culture 1
Dark 1
Death-defying 1
Deep 1
Deep Grief 1
Defective 1
Dehumanising 1
Demeaning 1
Denial 1
Déraciné 1
Desolate 1
Desolation 1
Desperate 1
Destroyed 1
Detached 1
Devastated 1
Devestating 1
Devoid 1
Dichotomy 1
Difficult 1
Discarded 1
Discombobulating 1
Disconnect 1
Disconnecting 1
Dishonest 1
Disjointed 1
Disoriented 1
Disowned 1
Disposable 1
Dissociation 1
Dissonance 1
Distrusting 1
Disturbing 1
Divergent 1
Divine-intervention 1
Drifting 1
Dystopian 1
Empowering 1
Empty (Who Am I, Why Don’t They Love Me) 1
Enraged 1
Exciting 1
Excluded 1
Excruciating 1
Expectations 1
Expendable 1
Extraterrestrial 1
Failing-to-fit-in 1
Failure 1
Fake 1
False 1
Fantastical 1
Fear 1
Fog 1
Foggy 1
Forgiveness 1
Fortune 1
Fractured 1
Frightened 1
Fulfilling 1
Fury 1
God 1
Gone 1
Gratifying 1
Great Life And Family 1
Happy 1
Hate 1
Hazy 1
Healed 1
Heartache 1
Heartbreaking 1
Hollow 1
Home 1
Hope 1
Hopeful 1
Houses 1
Humbling 1
Hypervigilant 1
Illegitimate 1
Imperfect 1
Imposter 1
Impotent 1
Imprecatory 1
Included 1
Inconvenient 1
Incorrigible 1
Independent 1
Infuriated (Resentful) 1
Inhibited 1
Insignificant 1
Instructive 1
Jagged 1
Journey 1
Kaukokaipuu 1
Kindness 1
Kintsugi 1
Lacking 1
Latent 1
Liberated 1
Lie 1
Luck 1
Marketable 1
Mine 1
Misinderstood 1
Misplaced 1
Missing 1
Missing Pieces 1
Mistreated 1
Misunderstood (No One But Adoptees Know What It Is To Be Adopted) 1
Muted 1
Mystery 1
Mystical 1
Navigating 1
Needy 1
Negation 1
Nerve Wracking 1
Nightmare 1
Nonconcentual 1
Not Alone 1
Not-belonging 1
Obscured 1
Of 1
Optimistic 1
Orphan 1
Othered 1
Outside 1
Overprotected 1
Parents 1
Pervasive 1
Pining 1
Possession 1
Powerless 1
Primal 1
Protective 1
Puzzling 1
Questioned 1
Regret 1
Regret (For Not Being There For My Natural Family For The Tough Times And Good Times) 1
Released 1
Relentless 1
Relinquished 1
Remade 1
Rescued 1
Resilient 1
Restless 1
Robbed 1
Safe 1
Saudade 1
Scary 1
Searching 1
Secrets 1
Self-hatred 1
Silent 1
Solitude 1
Soulchanging 1
Split 1
Stifled 1
Stolen 1
Stolen Identity 1
Sucks 1
Taken 1
Temporary 1
Terror 1
Thankful 1
Thought-provoking 1
Tired 1
Tiring 1
Torn 1
Tough 1
Traffic 1
Tragic 1
Transformational 1
Transformative 1
Trapped 1
Truth 1
Twice 1
Twin 1
Un-moored 1
Unanchored (Adrift) 1
Unattachable 1
Unattached 1
Unbearable 1
Uncompréhension 1
Unconditional 1
Unconditional Love 1
Unfinished 1
Unfortunate 1
Ungrateful 1
Unheard 1
Unlost 1
Unnecessary 1
Unrooted 1
Unseen 1
Unsettling 1
Unsupported 1
Untethered 1
Untouchable 1
Unwell 1
Uprooted 1
Uprooting 1
Violation 1
Wanderer 1
Wanted / Unwanted 1
Weary 1
Weird 1
Wonderful 1
Wound 1