It’s important to put your best foot forward when writing “Our Story” section of your profile. It is the first section every expectant parent will read, so you want to make sure you address these five key elements.

Introduce Yourself

This can be as simple as, “Hi, we are Tom and Sarah. Thank you for taking the time to read our profile.” You could also consider a more creative approach containing the same information, just worded differently.

The Love Story

How did you two lovebirds meet? Who popped the question? When did you get married? What drew you to each other? What makes your relationship unique? Tell us the facts in a sincere way, so expectant parents can get an idea of the love you share for one another.

Children

If you have children, be sure to include them in your “Our Story” section. You want the expectant parent to know, right away, who the members of your family are. I believe it is best to include your child’s name, age, and the miracle of how they came to your family. You can share more detail, of each child, in their individual sections such as—”About Our Son, Sam,” “Big Brother, Sam” or “About Sam”.

Why Are You Adopting?

What brought you to your adoption journey? What calls you to become parents? Refrain from talking too much about the past, and look more into the future. If you struggled with infertility, use one or two sentences to say so, then move to the positive facts to where you are now and how excited you are to become parents. You want to give an expectant parent an idea of where you have been, but you also want to share what your life is going to look like moving forward.

Be Yourself

These two words are the KEY element of your entire profile! Talk about what makes you different, what makes you unique, what drives you to adopt, and who you are. Don’t waste your time pretending to be something you’re not, because, in the long run, it will only delay your time of being matched. Be authentically you!

Single Parents—I would take out “The Love Story” part of this section, and use this space to write a longer introduction and why you want to become a parent. Share something silly or funny about yourself that will draw expectant parents into reading the rest of your profile.

Have fun writing your profile! This is a moment in time where you get to reflect on your story, your journey, and share it with an expectant parent; a birth parent who will be placing their baby with you. Your profile will stand above the rest if you let go of the stress, enjoy the process, and write what is in your heart.

Below is an excellent example of an “Our Story” section:                                

Hello, we are Micah and Julia! Thank you for choosing to hear our story and learning more about us as prospective parents.

Like many couples in this day in age, our story began online! We both had just gotten out of long-term relationships, both just moved to a new city and were not sure how to start dating again. So we downloaded the app and made our dating profiles. We each had some good dates and bad dates, but once we met each other we knew this was the real deal! We quickly became best friends over Saturday morning strolls through the Farmer’s Market and eventually started dating. Our love had blossomed for over two years before we were engaged and eventually married in the summer of 2011.

Soon after getting home from our incredible honeymoon trip through Europe, we decided we should start trying to grow our family. After about a year of trying to conceive, we found out from our doctors that we would be unable to have a biological child. But we knew that wouldn’t stop us! Becoming parents has always been our dream, and we cannot wait to welcome a beautiful child into our hearts through open adoption.