25 Years of KAAN Reflections - Allen Majors

As we build up to celebrating our 25th anniversary, we will be sharing reflections from members of the community. In this post, Allen Majors, Korean adoptee and volunteer, shares some of his experiences with KAAN.

How/when did you first learn about KAAN?

A friend told me about the KAAN. My first KAAN conference was in Chicago (2009?). I have participated at KAAN conferences mostly by capturing moments with photos.

What is KAAN's importance to the adoptee community?

The KAAN conference is an important and unique nexus of adult adoptees, young adoptees, and adoptive parents in an atmosphere of intentional listening. The facilitation of hearing the various stories relating to adoption from different perspectives is especially powerful. Somehow it helps us to be better adoptive parents and better adoptees. It helps us to develop and be better people. Along with celebrating one another and laughing together, the most essential work of the KAAN is, in my view, merely, simply, and profoundly listening to one another. It is validation without dilution, with minimal qualification. It is acceptance, and at our core that is what each of us deeply desires.