A master does not teach life by following a manual; he has no recipe to show you how to live. He inspires you through his being, through the depth of his experiences. He doesn’t need to speak extensively; often, it is in silence that one learns the most. What radiates from him illuminates your path, encouraging you to write your own story, to build your own identity.

"Why do you want to meet your biological father? This man abandoned you, your mother, and your sister, leaving you homeless." This question has been asked of me countless times. Yet, despite everything, he was the one who sparked the beginning of my remarkable story. Behind his actions, which many would judge harshly, lies a valuable lesson: resilience, understanding, and the threads of an extraordinary tale.

In life, our culture and upbringing can sometimes condition us to harshly judge those who have made mistakes. We then accumulate resentment, which, even when buried deep within us, eventually affects our daily lives. It influences our decisions, making some experiences heavier to bear. But is this resentment really useful? Is it a driver of success, or merely a burden that slowly eats away at us from the inside?Sometimes, we believe that this emotion is justified, that we have no choice but to feel it toward those who, in our eyes, have wronged us. Yet, this conviction leads us to live in pain, to nurture wounds that limit our ability to grow. But what if, instead of letting this resentment consume us, we learned to transcend it? Not by forgetting, but by changing our perception of what we’ve been through.

"Madam, if you bring me back a Romanian Penal Code, I’ll reimburse you for it. What you’re doing is madness!" That was the response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the dawn of our adoption journey. Yet, despite all the discouragements, here my sister and I are today, witnesses to this extraordinary journey.

Life is full of countless small paths, each offering us the opportunity to shape our own story. It’s true that we move forward more easily when accompanied by a guide. No matter the pace at which we move, we will always, in our own time, find ourselves on the path that is truly ours.

Our personal story is the greatest gift we can receive, and it begins with our family. Regardless of the circumstances we are born into, we hold the pen to write our own narrative.