I mean its bascially the same principle.
Immigrants get āadoptedā by a country
Just as Orphans get adopted by prospective parents
Then you get the International Adoptions which is bascially both combinedā¦ those probably have the most identity crisisā¦
Iām not adopted and Iāve often wondered āwhat if I got different parents?ā Iām sure Iām not alone.
I know what you mean, I also often wonder what it would have been like if you had different parents.
I think the difference is that for someone thatās adopted, itās more ārealā
Likeā¦ scientifically, āyouā had to be the product of your bio parentsā¦
Like there is no ābeforeā your existance, from your PoV at least
Likeā¦ you existā¦ and anything before was already set in stoneā¦
Like the sequence of events that led up to your procration is just what it isā¦
I mean unless youāre talking about like parents dying
then I guess yea sure thatās a what ifā¦ it would be kinda tragic thoā¦
For an adopted personā¦ any tiny changes couldāve led to a different outcomeā¦
Like what if the first time they met, the kid āacted a bit weirdā and then didnāt get picked by those same prospective parentsā¦
Just a little thing can change their entire trajectoryā¦
ā¦
Its likeā¦ I sometimes wondered like what if I wasnāt born in China, but was an ABC (American-Born Chinese) instead?..
Likeā¦ Iād have no ābeforeā to wonder aboutā¦ Iād have no āother timelineā to be able to visualizeā¦
My identity as an American would be undeniable (well besides the whole executive order bullshit thatās being sued in the courts)
But because I was transplantedā¦ I have a constant identity crisis because I can see the ghosts of the other timelineā¦
Like if someone like trump got elected in 2008, our visa couldāve been deniedā¦ leading to that alternate timelineā¦
Or just dad dyingā¦ everyone else in my family were sort of like āadd-onsā on the visaā¦ so if he died, we might not have been able to come (I think the terms are Pricipal Immigrant and Derivative Immigrant), like weāre all derivatives from dadās applicationā¦
Okay I think Iām just rambling thoughts againā¦
Why is my brain so hyperactive lmao
My mom died when I was in middle school. She was the taskmaster parent and my dad treated me basically like a roommate, so I was way more independent in high school and beyond than I would have been if she had lived. I see the ghost of the timeline in which things were different. I think that happens for any huge changes in life.
Iām an immigrant in Germany and moved here about a decade after I studied abroad here. I donāt think I would have been allowed/able to study abroad, especially under the circumstances (I failed German, after getting a 95 and a 98 on the midterm and final, respectively, because I didnāt do the homework), so I donāt think I would have been able to come here and become a German as a second language teacher without prior immersion. My life would look very different, and Iād probably be leaning into my Spanish a lot more to try to emigrate to a Spanish speaking country, if I were even thinking about leaving.
My mom was a republican, but I donāt know if she would have followed my dad down the Fox News wormhole or if she would have pulled him out of it. I think if she snapped out of it, but couldnāt snap him out of the maga hypnosis, she might have left him, which would probably have set my dad on a very unpleasant path.
Jesus christ. I sorry to hear that.
This makes me appreciate my parents even more. I mean at least theyāre more of the āstatus quoā type of people and not extremists.
I remember cuddling with mom a lotā¦ and I felt very warm and safe when I sleep with parents when I was youngerā¦
I wonder how much did my motherās affection changed meā¦
Did I get more āsoftā because of that?
Like I have a weird emotional attachment to my mom who says mean things to me a lotā¦
So I essentially feel very vulnerable and need my mom to validate my existence.
I wonderā¦ what if my mom was more ācoldā towards meā¦ or like died? would I have just grown more independent? But conversely that also makes me more deprived of love and that doesnāt go wellā¦ I mightāve become a more aggressive personā¦
But my mom is so like ambivalent towards me that I essentially have two personalities. Sometimes Iām just in rageā¦ other times I feel so timid I wanna be a kid againā¦
Did my momās ambivalent affection helped or harmed me?
I mean dad doesnāt even show affection at all.
I mean I guess now in this timelineā¦ Iāve felt what cuddling feels likeā¦ so I could pass on this feeling to the next generation, but without the other side, the negative side, of it (the random ābipolar modeā yelling at me)
āFunā fact: literally everything that happens to you and all the little things you do every day are potentially just as life-changing.
You could go to one supermarket instead of another and meet your future life partner there.
Or come home 5 minutes early and catch the short circuit in time that would have burnt down your home with all your belongings.
Or cross the street here instead of there and get run over by a drunk driver.Life is unpredictable, and itās generally healthier to look to the future instead of the past.
Oh the other handā¦ I could make another Steins;Gate out of my obsessive alt-timeline thoughtsā¦
They say the best artists are weird and crazy (or something) xD
I immigrated when I was 3 from the UK to Australia. I also wonder how growing up in the UK would have affected me. I would be a completely different person. Iād only eat plain looking food. Iād think football is important. Itās weird to think about.
Same language tho, same Anglosphereā¦
In my alternate timeline, I most likely would not speak Englishā¦
Or perhaps very poorly and with a heavy Cantonese accent.
Terminator 2 would not feel the same