We all need an ice breaker when we enter a new school or a class. However, what if you get some brand new information about yourself in one of those ice-breaking sessions? This woman met a classmate in her ice-breaking session and got some major details about her biological mother. A decade-old secret was revealed to her and it is safe to say that her life was not the same anymore!
The Early Life
Born in Tampa, Florida, Katy Olson lived in the Midwest, Iowa for most of her life. She was an adopted kid and her parents gave her a loving childhood. However, her childhood was not an easy one. She was a kid with a mild case of cerebral palsy and she had to undergo few medical procedures.
Her parents always described her as a curiosity ridden kid but who would have thought that her curiosity would change the way she lived her life.
Moving Out Of Iowa
Like most kids, she had her dreams and wanted to follow her passion. This driven and passionate girl wanted to be a stand-up comedian and an actor. Hence, she moved to New York City to pursue her dream. She packed her stuff and went on to be what was in her mind.
She was having a great time performing in some comedy shows and comedy clubs. However, she never knew what was coming up next in her life.
Giving Out Her Story
When you are striving to be a stand-up comedian, you have to find humor in your own story. While reciting the stories of her life, Katy found love in writing. She always wanted to be a creative writer, so, this career path helped her in reigniting her love for writing.
The problem here was her age; she was already 30 and wanted a writing program that would blend in with her lifestyle in New York City. She started applying in various programs and waited for their response.
New School
When she started applying, there was an acceptance from Columbia University. Kate was excited about her acceptance and took admission in the program as a non-traditional student. She enrolled in the class for the next semester.
One of the classes in that specific program was WRIT W3680. It was a class that revolved around literary reporting. She would have never imagined that this semester full of scheduled classes would bring a tsunami of information in her life.
First Day At School
It was a fine day in January 2013 when she was going to start her writing program. The first day at school made her nervous and jittery. She was expecting some awkward hellos and nothing more than that.
She packed her bag and made her way to the university. For her, it was a normal first day but it changed her life, as of now, we can’t say if it was for good or bad.
The Ice-Breaking Session
Each class had its introductory session and the literary reporting class was no different. Among the first few speakers was Lizzie Delgado; she had enrolled in the class just a few minutes before. Her introduction shocked Katy and left her dumbfound.
Lizzie told the class that she lived with her husband and a daughter. She told the class that she grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. Lizzie was in her 30s, just like Katy.
Strange Vibe
As Lizzie was talking about her life and some fun facts about her, she realized that one of the classmates had a strong reaction to what she had to say. Lizzie continued saying things about her and Katy’s reactions were still strange to her.
She had no idea what was Katy thinking about but she was definitely taken aback by the response of her classmate.
A Discovery Of Life
Across the hall, Katy was startled by the details Lezzie was sharing. Lezzie talked about the reaction of Katy and described it as if she was having a panic attack. All this sounded familiar to Katy and it was completing the dots she had been looking for all her life.
Lizzie mentioned that she was adopted and that fact clicked to Katy. Things were about to change and how.
Family Outside Of The Family
Katy was happy with her life. However, Lezzie’s story made her think about her origin and birth background. Other than the stand-up career and writing classes, now Katy was researching some things about her life.
Her research was good enough to take her to the rabbit hole. While it was difficult to track down her birth mother, she did come across another woman who was related to her life and she was about to find the truth of her unknown life.
Details Of Unknown Past
The research did help her find out something related to one of her siblings. She realized that her birth mother might have given birth to another child before her. Her further research told her that she had a sister. She took the help of social media to track down the woman she was looking for. She did try to reach out to her but she got no response from the other side.
Katy thought that she might have to abandon the project but it was just the beginning and the mystery was still to be solved.
What Are The Chances?
There was limited information available to Katy. The alleged biological sister grew up in New Jersey and was currently studying at Columbia University. She made out all this from the information that was available online.
Katy was not really sure about which course this woman must be studying in the university but she had a hunch that all this information is about her classmate Lizzie.
What To Do Next?
Katy didn’t know what to do about the woman she sees in her class. She wanted to know about her but couldn’t figure out a way to do it. Katy didn’t want Lezzie to think that she was a stalker but it was her curiosity that made her think more about the woman more and more.
She said, “I didn’t want to let her get away. I couldn’t go home and sit for a week without getting an answer to this question.”
What Would You Do?
Katy did what a decent stranger would do if they wanted to know more about another stranger. She didn’t know what the right thing to say was but she had numerous questions in her head. She wanted to confirm if Lezzie was the same person Katy had found out about.
Hence, Katy was there with a long list of questions. Her questions were like, “Were you given up for adoption in Tampa, Florida, to a woman named Leslie?”
During all this, Lezzie had no idea what was going on.
Sisters Reunited
Lezzie was just confused and tried to answer all the questions of rapid-fire as politely as she could. During this interrogation, Katy couldn’t contain herself and said, “I think we are sisters!”
The room froze for the two of them and they could talk about nothing for a while. All Lezzie could think about was, “Is this real life?” But now the list of questions was going to increase.
Catching Up
Imagine a stranger coming up to you and saying, “We are sisters”. Anyone would need proof for such a huge claim. It was Lezzie’s turn to ask questions and Katy was there to answer.
They both combined the information they had about their birth mother and the details of their birth on their birth certificates. They both could come to just one conclusion and that was, they were sisters.
However, Lezzie was still hiding some of her family secrets and Katy was unaware of all of it.
Bonding Over Sister Bond
After they realized the beautiful relationship the two of them share, they couldn’t stop talking about their past and the families they had. Who would have thought that you could meet your long-lost sister in a classroom?
They hit the bar and started to talk about each other as they wanted to know everything they could. After all the small talk and lame questions, Lizzie had something important to tell her sister.
Digging Up
Katy was not ready for the information that was coming her way. For starters, they confirmed that the name of their birth mother was indeed Leslie Parker. Their birth mother had survived an attack by an infamous serial killer and her life was harder than they thought.
The hardships of her life made the circumstances miserable.
Meeting The Mother
Lezzie gave Katy a piece of information that shocked Katy. Lezzie had met the biological mother way before she met Katy, the biological sister. Lezzie passed on the contact information to Katy and asked her to contact her.
Katy was not yet ready to contact the biological mother on phone, so, she opted to email her first. She had no clue if she will ever get a reply but she decided to stick to her decision. While all this was happening, Lezzie remembered another piece of information that she had to share with her sister.
Recalling The Past
Lezzie recalled that her adoptive mother received a call. On the call, she was asked if she was interested in adopting the daughter of Lezzie’s biological mother. This call came in 1980 and the additional information was that the baby might not survive due to the complications in her birth.
Lezzie’s mother never heard again about that sibling. Hence, she assumed that the baby didn’t make it. However, that same sibling was now sitting in front of her in a bar.
The Search Of Other Siblings
Katy did meet Lezzie but there was a probability that they might have other siblings too. During this search, Katy’s biological mother replied to her email. After reading the mail, a few more things were cleared. Leslie couldn’t take care of the two daughters as she had wanted to, so, she put them in the adoption center.
The mother told that after the two of them, she gave birth to two sons and raised them. Katy now had two half-brothers and was ecstatic to meet her biological mother and the rest of the family.
And the day came real soon.
Amidst The Drama
With everything going on in their lives, Lezzie was successful in completing the writing program they had opted for. It was graduation day for Lezzie but that was not all. Katy had a big day for her too. With the celebration time, the sisters thought it would be the perfect time for Katy to meet the biological mother they had been talking about. They were not aware of how the meeting would go but they still went ahead with the family reunion.
Writers Started Telling Their Stories
Now that things were clear among the family members, the sisters decided to talk about it publicly. Before they went to meet their mother, they talked to The New York Times and other reporting channels about their story.
On the day of the graduation, all the reporters would have been there when the sisters met their mother.
The D Day
Every graduation day is emotional but for these two sisters, it was extra special. They were not just going to complete their education and passion but they were also going to complete the family they belonged to. When Lezzie went on stage to get the certificate of completion she recalled Katy sitting next to their biological mother.
Leslie was happy to meet her two daughters. She felt as if the life had come full circle when the two sisters came together to meet their mother.
Things Changed
After the two sisters met their biological mother, they went back to their real lives and started living the changed life. They now knew who was their biological family and that made all the difference.
Today, Katy and Lezzie are closest sisters. They have met each other’s adoptive families and go on vacation together. They value the sacrifice their mother had to do to give the daughters a future they deserved.
A Mother Knows It All
The pain of giving up a child is unbearable. Only a mother can know the pain. It was what Leslie did just for the sake of a safe future of her two daughters. She could have never thought that the girls would reconnect with her after all these years.
Watching them graduate from an Ivy League school was an incredible moment. After going through all the hardships, she realized that giving up her daughters was worth the pain. They had successful careers and happy families and that is all a mother could wish for their child.
