#20- Paint a Picture

Well this one has officially taken me the whole school year :) I started this one a little bit after school started and I have JUST finished it! I think that I have a little bit of creativity in me but I am by no stretch of the imagination a painter!

I have always enjoyed art and while I was thinking about what I was going to paint, I reminisced on my favorite paintings. I came to the conclusion that I was going to combine these paintings (or try to). My former roommate and good friend, who is an amazing artist, visited me and helped me start this process!


We first sketched out the pictures. I combined Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe, Van Gogh's Starry Night, Munch's Scream and a Mondrain.

#26- Try and Find my Birthmother (UPDATE)

So I finally heard back from the Department of Social Services! They sent me a few more forms that I need to fill out but the process now has a timeline. The adoption agency must get back to me within 8 months of May 11 with the search results.

It is crazy to think that this lifelong question will either be answered or not by the end of the year. So nerve wrecking AND exciting! I am flying home this weekend and bringing the paperwork to go over with my parents before I send it in, but next week I will have done my part!

AHH!

#14- Send a Message in a Bottle

This is such a romantic idea. We hear about it all the time in movies and books. My friend Allison had told me about a time that her and some of her childhood friends had written a message and sent it in a bottle. A few years later they got a call from a man who had found the bottle washed up on the beach.

He reminded them of what they had wrote and told them that he had found it in St. Augustine (they threw it out in the middle of a cruise in the Bahamas!). The whole idea is very enchanting to me and I decided to give it a try.

I used a wine bottle from Paradise Springs winery that is based in Clifton, Virginia (my hometown). I thought this was very appropriate :) Here is a picture of the bottle and my message. I threw it over on Vilano Beach in St. Augustine, FL.... wonder if I will ever hear anything back?!

#34- Bake a Cake for Someone Random

Baking is probably one of my most favorite things in the world. I always wondered what would happen if you just walked up to someone and gave them a cake, randomly. It would make my day, so I figured this would be a good item to put on the list.

So I caught word that two of the youngings that live in my apartment building were having a birthday. I decided to bake a cake for them, go knock on their door and hand it over. I decided to do a white on white cake with decorations with icing and those little sugar letters.

Here is a picture (I cannot get the picture to turn... but you get the idea!):

When finished, I went over and knocked on the door. I told them happy birthday and handed over the cake. The kid looked at me confused and told me it wasn’t for a few more days. Damn. I guess this added to the element of surprise? Regardless, I gave the guys the cake, wished them well and they were stoked. Tell me one college boy who wouldn’t be excited for free cake. Exactly. Day=made.

#26- Try and Find my Birthmother

When I started this list I knew I would face things that would push me. Things that would be physically hard to do, things that would push me emotionally, this one was probably the most emotional and it has just begun.

I have grown up knowing that I was adopted. I am the most blessed person in the world. My birth mother was 15 when she had me and was so courageous as she took the path that was probably not the easiest: adoption. My parents adopted me when I was a baby and gave me a life that I probably would’ve dreamt of if the situation was any different.

People always ask me if it is weird being adopted, if I am treated different than my siblings, if I feel left out. I can honestly say that I have never felt like I wasn’t part of the O’Brien family. My siblings are my siblings and I still cannot believe we aren’t blood related. My parents are my world, my two best friends who have created the person that I am. I am so grateful to be a part of their family.

It’s funny because people will always tell me that I look like my parents without knowing that I am adopted. We always just chuckle a little knowing that I am adopted, but most of the time we just let it go. I would say that I am the perfect mix in personality between my two parents.

I fit in right?!

When I first brought up the idea of finding my birth parents, my dad was concerned with the outcome. He was concerned that it may open me up to be let down or hurt and at the ripe age of 18 about to head to college, he felt like I should wait. I promised that I would until I graduated from college.

The time has come and I have the full support of my family and friends. I have had numerous conversations with those I love in my life about the possible outcomes, gains and even potential heartbreak that I could endure with this, but I feel like this list has pushed me in a way to open myself up to being ready for this.

I called the adoption agency to figure out how the process works and they informed me that I would have to fill out a application of disclosure, get it certified and mail it to Richmond to start the process. This is the first step of probably many in order to get the search underway.

I printed off the form, filled it out, got it certified and stuck it in an envelope. I then went down to my favorite bar in St. Augustine and sat there with a beer and the envelope in front of me. For the first time in my life I was scared shitless for the doors that this was potentially opening. I sat there awhile and thought about it, I even almost ripped it up at one point.

One of the waitresses and a dear friend of mine, Jerilyn, came up to me. She has known about my story of adoption and my intent to find my birthmother and she sat there and talked to me. She reminded me of my intentions. My intentions to thank my birth mother for the blessing she had given me by giving me up for adoption. The courage she displayed at such a very young age. The sacrifice she made by having me rather than having an abortion. I cry as I write this, not because I am sad or anything like that, but because I know how lucky I am. Phew. Alright.

Bottom line: I mailed the letter. I stood in the post office, even took a picture of the letter as proof, and stuck it in the mailbox. A wave of relief and excitement washed over me. The situation was out of my hands.

Though I do not know what is going to happen, my faith is in God and the right thing will happen! I will keep y’all updated on what comes from this but I wanted to write the post now as to not be let down by any future events, or lack thereof. I will keep on praying and hope for the best!

April: Can I blame it on the showers?

They always say that April showers bring May flowers and that’s exactly what I am planning on giving y’all… Flowers of posts for the whole month of May. April was probably one of the craziest months of my life.

With school finishing up, finals and preparing for graduation, it was a whirlwind of a month that flew by with the blink of an eye. Thank God I allotted myself a full year to finish this project, otherwise it would never have happened. I now have until August 1 to finish the rest of the list while I take two summer classes to up my GPA! I will have a lot of free time.

I was talking to my mom the other day and she was telling me that I don’t need to finish them all. I do. I need to finish this whole list for myself. I am going to push myself to finish this.

Even though I did not post at all during April doesn’t mean that I wasn’t crossing items off the list! While I catch up on blog posts y’all can look forward to reading about 6 different things I was able to cross off during April! So look out for that!
I love you all and loved hearing from people who read the blog. This experience has been a blast and I can’t wait to see what other joys it brings my way!