Hi, my name is Claire and I turned 18 years old 2 weeks ago. I'm a Senior at Gold-Coast High with my best friend Andrew. Andrew and I have lived life together ever since we were three years old. He's always been my lifeline. He's basically the only reason why I wake up, go to school, and be happy every day. Oh, and did I mention that I'm in love with him. I know. Crazy right? It took me a while to actually accept my feelings for him because I didn't want to ruin what we had going on as best friends, but in the end it was worth it. I live with both of my adoptive parents and my little brother. I have a nice life here and basically have and entire space to myself. My parent renovated and turned the garage Into a miniature apartment for me, so that I can have a place of privacy to myself. It beats living under the same roof as a little brother who goes through your things when you're not around. I wouldn't have had this perfect life if my parents hadn't found me during their daily sunrise walk on the beach. Turns out I was left there. Abandoned by my birth parents. Nobody knows why anyone would've abandoned a baby on a beach rather than taking them to an adoption agency. Honestly, I haven't been able to understand why my parents would give me up in the first place. Quite frankly, I haven't even thought about my birth parents or past until recently. I have been going through some changes. Changes that I know nobody will understand because even I don't understand it. Recently, I went on an adventure to somewhere I didn't know existed. This adventure to this place is where I found out the truth about myself. I mean I've been on average adrenaline junkie adventures before like mountain climbing, swimming with sharks, cliff jumping, and traveling to Gold Coast's heart-shaped rock pool with Andrew, but this one changed my life forever. Mentally and physically.
It all started while I was scuba diving in a reef off of Mako Island with Andrew.