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Dear Adoptive Parents: Please Stop Celebrating Gotcha Day
Everyday, I hit the ground running.
I was adopted transracially as a baby and I’ve been fighting to reclaim myself since. Imperialism, Orientalism, Racism, the Patriarch, and Colonization have been and continue to be major themes in my life.
Tomorrow is August 15, Korean Liberation Day. We will celebrate our historic independence from Japanese colonization. Last week, August 7, was my Gotcha Day. It was named this by some White people who thought it was a sweet way to reminisce and celebrate their adopting Korean children.
This year, my adoptive mother forgot. The next day, she approached me and said, “Hey. I forgot your Gotcha Day. I don’t want you to feel we forgot you. What do you want?”
“Oh, it’s ok,” I replied, casually peeking my head into the refrigerator, trying not to look her in the eye.
I sighed relief when she meandered into the living room.
Gotcha Day. Like the first 18 years of my life celebrating the Sunken Place every August 7. “We gotcha!” the White people exclaim.
Yeah. You got me alright. Haha.
The joke’s on me to find a way to learn my culture, my language, my heritage, my family, my people, my way.
