WESLEY CHAPEL, NC – The Gold Award is the highest achievement award for senior and ambassador Girl Scouts within the Girl Scouts of America organization. Molly Roth, a fifteen-year-old Girl Scout from Wesley Chapel, is aspiring to complete her Gold Award status. Her project, a comic strip titled “We Adopted A Super Hero”, tackles the tough feelings that arise during adoption from the viewpoint of the existing siblings.
When deciding on a Gold Award project, Molly wanted to pursue ideas that emphasized her creativity and artistic ability. She also wanted to keep things fun. Molly had always wanted to write and illustrate a comic strip and she wanted the subject matter to be near and dear to her heart. “We Adopted A Superhero” is inspired by Molly’s own family and the adoption of their little brother, Micah, when Molly was seven years old. She remembered the difficult feelings that arose back when they first adopted and wanted to share her experience and knowledge to help other children who may be facing the same obstacles in their hearts. Adoption involves the entire family and Molly wants every child to know that their feelings, whatever they are, are valid.
“We Adopted A Super Hero” follows the main character, Sarah, a young girl who is just getting used to the idea of having an adopted sibling. Sarah faces some difficult feelings surrounding the adoption, namely being jealous of her new little brother and all of the attention that is focused on him. She is uncertain of her new feelings and begins to repress these feelings of jealousy. Her jealous feelings begin to pile up and cause distress when Sarah discovers that her new little brother is being recruited to be a superhero with a special organization. This development shines a new light on the situation. Sarah’s parents request that she work together with her little brother as a chaperone and that is when the real adventure begins.
When asked how parents can facilitate the adoption process to make it easier for existing siblings, Molly outlined a few essential ideas. First, parents should always make it clear that while some things might change, for example, a shift in focus and attention, the love that they feel for each of their children will stay the same. Second, Molly suggests that parents maintain their one-to-one time with each of their children so that nobody feels left out. Third, parents should encourage their children to share their feelings and recognize that everyone’s feelings are valid.
“We Adopted A Super Hero” was written from Molly’s own experiences and with consultation from other adoptive siblings to identify some of the common feelings that existing siblings experience during the adoption process. Its mission is to help new adoptive siblings identify and communicate their feelings effectively and be reassured that the feelings they are having are a normal part of the adoption process. The website also contains resources for parents regarding preparing existing children for the adoption of a new sibling.
“We Adopted A Super Hero” can be read at www.weadoptedasuperhero.com. You can follow along with the comic on social media through Instagram (@we_adopted_a_superhero), Facebook “Superman’s Sister”, and YouTube “We Adopted A Super Hero”.
