I See Me
Chloe, 17, is a Scottish Adoption Teen Ambassador. In this featured blog post, she reflects on the journey of finding her identity and her voice.

Our thanks for this blog post go to Chloe, 17, who is Teen Ambassador for Scottish Adoption. The Teen Ambassadors help Scottish Adoption, a voluntary adoption agency based in Edinburgh, create new families by giving input at every Scottish Adoption preparation group. They also use their experiences and represent the views of other young people from our teen group to help train and educate other professionals.
@teentalkadoption is an Instagram based online teen adoptee community created by the Scottish Adoption Teen Ambassadors. @teentalkadoption is:
- A platform for adopted teenagers to tell their stories.
- A place for adopted teenagers to connect with other relevant services.
- A space to educate others, change practice and reduce stereotypes on adoption.
- An online support service where adopted teenagers can submit a worry or question and receive a confidential response from a Teen Ambassador.
Follow @teentalkadoption if you are a adopted teenager who wants to join the community.
Follow @teentalkadoption if you’re a adoptive parent or professional who wants to learn about the views and experiences of adopted children.
Direct Message Scottish Adoption or use the contact form on their website to submit your problem, questions, story/blog or thoughts.
Scottish Adoption understand that some adopted young people would like to keep their adoption identity confidential. If this is the case, you or your parent can read our blogs here, or just take a peek at the Teen Talk Instagram page now and then.
If you do decide to follow Teen Talk, we would always encourage you to practice good internet safety by:
- Never using your name or correct date of birth.
- Using a photo that is non-identifiable.
- ALWAYS keep your page locked.
If you would like more information about Scottish Adoption’s Teen Ambassador Programme or @teentalkadoption, please contact the Children’s Worker Melanie Thomson by emailing melaine@scottishadoption.org or by calling 0131 553 5060.
Chloe’s blog post, below, was first published on Scottish Adoption’s website.
Are you still trying to figure out who you are or have you already found yourself?
If the latter, congratulations! However, for those of you who are still finding yourselves, here are some things from my journey that I would like to share with you.
For me growing up, when adoption was spoken about at school, if mentioned at all, it often came from playground insults. I heard a lot of “lol, your birth parents didn’t want you” or “Is your life like Tracey Beaker?”
I’m sure for those of you who have been pointed at and insulted, you experienced the same thing as I did when this happened. It affected my confidence and how I viewed myself.
For a long time, I took these insults. However, within the past year, I decided, no longer! The last time I was insulted I replied with the following “No my life is nothing life Tracey Beaker and why I was adopted is none of your business”.
Back in my birth town, everyone knew me and my family as a problem family that needed to be taken care of. This impacted too on how I saw myself.
Throughout my adoption journey, there have also been a variety of feelings that have troubled me. For example, a sense of abandonment, confidence issues and a lack of control. These feelings have come from both my experiences and from how others perceive adoption as a whole.
With both, the result has meant that we as adoptees often end up feeling that how we feel on the inside, is how others think about us.
The good news is, things are getting better. Growing in age, leaving the toxic environment of school and realising that through things like work, I know have confidence that I can control my own future.
Now, when I feel negative about my past, I remind myself that only I have the power to change my identity. . I see Me!