When creating an “About Me” section, don’t forget to include fun facts, unique hobbies, and personality traits. It is important to add your interactions with your nieces and nephews or your friend’s children, but it is more important to communicate to birth parents who you are!

I love hearing about adventures couples take with their young family members, and how they involve themselves in their lives, but don’t forget to tell birth parents what activities you enjoy as a couple, and alone. When talking about your hobbies, such as hiking, tell birth parents why you love to hike or a favorite hike you have been on. When did you start hiking and who sparked your interest to start?

When I finish reading a profile, with a smile on my face, I know the couple or individual has created a successful profile, because I can feel their desire not only to adopt, but I get a sense of who they are. Every couple or individual who is creating a profile has a desire to adopt or has relationships with children that they speak about throughout their profile, but no one is going to share the exact traits or hobbies as you. Fun facts, personality traits, and hobbies are what make your profile unique. A profile that I recently had the pleasure of reading mentioned that the husband collected old skate decks, as he enjoyed skateboarding when he was young. This is a fact (hobby) that made this profile stick out to me. I remember it well because not everyone collects old skate decks.

I am not saying you have to be a collector of something unusual, but once you have completed your “About Me” section, go back and read it out loud. Are you telling birth parents who you are or just how good you are with children? Both hold a level of importance, but if a birth parent doesn’t remember or know who you are, it won’t matter how many times you take your niece and nephew to the park. Birth parents want to feel a connection with you as a human being—what you enjoy doing, what you love to eat, where you live, what you do for a living, and who you are!

Your “About Me” section could be the one section that birth parents feel the most drawn to. Tell them about your mannerisms, your quirks, and what makes you uniquely you. If you have a hard time writing about yourself, turn to your spouse to write it for you— About Sara by John. If you are adopting as a single parent, consider having a close friend or parent to write about you, if it is difficult for you to talk about yourself.