Parents Get an Offer to Adopt a Girl, Find Out She Is Their Real Daughter Switched at Birth

• A couple received an offer to adopt a teenage girl who had biological ties to them.
• Upon further investigation, they learned she was their biological daughter.
• They were delighted to have her back, but someone in their family felt insecure.

A 15-year-old girl's life turned upside down when she learned she was not her parents' biological daughter. The teenager shared her story in Reddit's "offmychest" forum, hoping discussing it with others would make her feel better.

A year before she posted her story on Reddit, an official from child services approached her parents, asking them if they would like to adopt a 15-year-old girl, Sofia, who was biologically related to them.

Curious, the couple investigated further and learned that Sofia was their biological daughter. The Redditor explained, " After some investigation, it turned out that she was their real daughter: the hospital messed up and accidentally switched me with her. I'm not actually their daughter."

Upon learning that Sofia was their daughter, the couple immediately took her in and were delighted to have her as part of their family. However, the Redditor didn't feel as happy as them. In fact, she felt terrible upon learning that she was not their biological daughter. She confessed:

"I know that I'm a terrible person for being so self-pitying when Sofia is going through so much more."

What Did the Girl Feel About the Situation?

Growing up, the Redditor always felt she wasn't like her parents and siblings. People used to call her "the ugly duckling" because she didn't have clear skin and shiny hair like her family. Moreover, she wasn't as good as her siblings in studies, sports, and making friends.

"I'm pasty, pimply, and have a lot of social anxiety," she confessed, adding that other kids at school used to bully her. Looking at Sofia, she understood why she was so different from her siblings. Sofia looked like her family, was a popular student, and was a great fit in the family.

While writing about Sofia, the Redditor shared an incident that made her feel terrible. She had won an award for digital art, but her parents didn't accompany her to the exhibition because they still needed to get their booster shots. However, when Sofia won the student leader award at school, her parents decided to throw a party.

The Redditor admitted that Sofia's award was a bigger deal and that they had gotten their shots, so it was justified for her parents to celebrate her achievement. However, watching her parents feel proud of Sofia's achievement made her feel bad.

She admitted feeling so jealous that she decided to leave the party. When Sofia saw her go, she asked her what happened, attracting everyone's attention towards the Redditor. Feeling terrible, the teenager began to cry and rushed out of the party.

At the end of her post, the Redditor admitted that she didn't blame Sofia for her insecurities. However, she felt terrible thinking that she wasn't her parents' biological daughter and that she was a misfit in the family.

A few weeks later, she wrote another Reddit post, sharing what happened after she left the party crying. "I found out later that Sofia left the party as soon as she saw me crying, that she spent hours searching for me before finding me in the old treehouse," she shared.

When Sophia approached her, the girl tried apologizing but was so overwhelmed with emotions that she began to cry instead and talked about her insecurities. After learning about her feelings, Sophia comforted her and said she cared the most about her.

In the following weeks, the girl's relatives blamed her for overreacting, but she didn't feel bad because she knew Sophia was on her side. Their relationship soon blossomed into a beautiful bond as they spent time together and got to know each other better. The Redditor said:

"We weren't born to the same people or raised by the same people, but she's my sister, and that makes me feel so lucky."

The Comments

Upon reading the Redditor's post, many people validated her feelings in the comments section and suggested what she should do next. One netizen wrote a heartfelt note for the teenager, telling her that her feelings were natural and that she should speak to her parents about it.

"It's okay to feel everything you're feeling, and it's not wrong. I highly encourage you to keep talking about your feelings," the netizen said while encouraging the girl to talk to someone about her feelings.

Another Redditor suggested suing the hospital for their life-changing blunder. The user shared that their older child felt unloved when they had another baby, but that didn't mean the parents didn't love their kids equally. The user validated the teenager's feelings and told her to talk to her parents about her feelings.

A third Reddit user said, "My tip for the last part is to sign up for 23andme and find your family." The girl read the comment and revealed that her biological parents and grandparents had died.

Do you have any suggestions for the teenager? What would you do if you were in her place? We would love to know your thoughts.

Here is another story about a woman who took an ancestry DNA test and discovered that her beloved father was not her biological dad.