Emily Hall stares at her Facebook message. She begins to shake uncontrollably, repeatedly reading the message as tears form in her eyes.

‘Are your parents Chris and Judy?’

“Right then I realized who it was. I have never felt so empty and scared inside before in my life,” Hall said. “At first I could not believe it, I didn’t know how anything would turn out.”

The message was from Jamie-Anne Davis; Hall’s biological mother.

The junior decided not to reply to the message that night. Instead she turned to two friends for advice. Hall knew that talking about her birth mother was a sensitive subject so to avoid making her mother cry Hall waited to tell her parents about the message.

“I was scared of what their reaction would be and that they would say I would not be able to talk to her,” Hall said.

The next day at school Hall was unable to hold back the tears. She burst into tears in the middle of the hallway while heading back to her art class. An abundance of questions filled her mind. Should she reply back? When should she tell her parents? Why is this happening to her?

“I doubt I’ve ever cried that much before,” Hall said. “It all set in that this was actually happening. I was scared because I didn’t know what kind of person she would be,”

Unable to focus, Hall decided not to play in the three soccer games. Instead she concentrated on sorting out all of her questions. Hall replied to her birth mother’s message and talked to her adoptive parents about the situation. She believes finding out the truth has mentally made her a stronger person and was surprised with how well the experience has been.

“I love my mom more than I ever imagined I would. Hearing how I’m so much like her brightens my day,” Hall said. “I’m proud to admit that I’m adopted and have two families. I couldn’t be happier.”

Since kindergarten Hall has known she was adopted. She had received birthday cards and minimal information about her birth parents. She knows she has two half-siblings, Dylan and Storm and she knows her biological father’s name is Todd Haught.

“Being an only child gives you a lot of time to yourself to think about everything,” Hall said. “I had always wondered what it would be like to meet my family but never thought too hard since I love the life I have now.”

During the summer Hall visited Jamie-Ann Davis and her two siblings with her mother, Judy. While at their house in Franklin, Ohio, Hall went out to places with her brother, sister and their friends. Without the connection from Facebook, Hall would not have met her mother until she was 18. However because of this experience, Hall advises anyone who is contacted on Facebook to be careful.

“The experience definitely changed my life completely around,” Hall said. “It could be scary at first but over time it gets better.”