I'm not adopted and I've often wondered "what if I got different parents?" I'm sure I'm not alone.
this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
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I think the difference is that for someone that's adopted, it's more "real"
Like... scientifically, "you" had to be the product of your bio parents...
Like there is no "before" your existance, from your PoV at least
Like... you exist... and anything before was already set in stone...
Like the sequence of events that led up to your procration is just what it is...
I mean unless you're talking about like parents dying
then I guess yea sure that's a what if... it would be kinda tragic tho...
For an adopted person... any tiny changes could've led to a different outcome...
Like what if the first time they met, the kid "acted a bit weird" and then didn't get picked by those same prospective parents...
Just a little thing can change their entire trajectory...
...
Its like... I sometimes wondered like what if I wasn't born in China, but was an ABC (American-Born Chinese) instead?...
Like... I'd have no "before" to wonder about... I'd have no "other timeline" to be able to visualize...
My identity as an American would be undeniable (well besides the whole executive order bullshit that's being sued in the courts)
But because I was transplanted... I have a constant identity crisis because I can see the ghosts of the other timeline...
Like if someone like trump got elected in 2008, our visa could've been denied... leading to that alternate timeline...
Or just dad dying... everyone else in my family were sort of like "add-ons" on the visa... so if he died, we might not have been able to come (I think the terms are Pricipal Immigrant and Derivative Immigrant), like we're all derivatives from dad's application...
Okay I think I'm just rambling thoughts again...
Why is my brain so hyperactive lmao
I know what you mean, I also often wonder what it would have been like if you had different parents.
I immigrated when I was 3 from the UK to Australia. I also wonder how growing up in the UK would have affected me. I would be a completely different person. I'd only eat plain looking food. I'd think football is important. It's weird to think about.
Same language tho, same Anglosphere...
In my alternate timeline, I most likely would not speak English...
Or perhaps very poorly and with a heavy Cantonese accent.
Terminator 2 would not feel the same
"Fun" fact: literally everything that happens to you and all the little things you do every day are potentially just as life-changing.
You could go to one supermarket instead of another and meet your future life partner there.
Or come home 5 minutes early and catch the short circuit in time that would have burnt down your home with all your belongings.
Or cross the street here instead of there and get run over by a drunk driver.
Life is unpredictable, and it's generally healthier to look to the future instead of the past.
Oh the other hand... I could make another Steins;Gate out of my obsessive alt-timeline thoughts...
They say the best artists are weird and crazy (or something) xD