#privmiranda

MIRANDA CORCORAN ➝ SECOND SIBLING

I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN

❖ FULL NAME: Miranda Rosemary Corcoran. ❖ PRONOUNS: She/Her. ❖ AGE: 20. (July 2nd). ❖ BIRTH ORDER: Second. Adopted. ❖ GRADE: Sophomore. ❖ MAJOR: Social Work, with a minor in Religious Studies. ❖ SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual. ❖ ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Panromantic. ❖ FACECLAIM: Emily Kinney.

I'LL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL YOU LOVE ME

[[TW FOR MENTIONS OF ABUSE]]

Miranda Corcoran does not remember the first five years of her life, and if her CPS case file is anything to go off of, she considers this lack of memory a blessing. The name on her original birth certificate reads Mileva Lukic, a name which tells the story of the first child born to Bosniak parents who had left their home country shortly after the end of the Bosnian War. The few details she knows about them are scarce: they were young, spoke virtually no English, and struggled just to make it by from day to day. While Mileva has grown up with the knowledge that her biological parents came here to give a better life for their future children, she also knows that discovering they were pregnant soon after coming to America wasn’t at all in their plans. She doesn’t fault them for putting her up for adoption. If anything, she commends them for wanting to give her the best they could, even if that wasn’t necessarily with them.

Her first adoption was a quiet affair, taking place when she was two months old between her parents and a member of the community who had promised to raise Mileva to know and embrace her Bosnian heritage. They elected to keep her original name, but the day the adoption papers were signed was the last contact she would have with her birth parents. From there, her newly adopted family – the Zahirovics – moved from Michigan to Albany, where Mileva would spend the next four years. While her adopted parents kept their promise to raise her with an appreciation for where she came from, they did not live up to the promise her parents had hoped went without needing to be said: that they would always keep her safe. What little memories she has of her early childhood are marked by screaming and yelling in words she couldn’t understand, the sound of both her adopted parents hitting one another, and the occasional sting to her own skin if she got in the way. What she’s learned outside of that are things she’s glad she doesn’t remember, including how she came to be removed from their care, a tale that involves a rather nasty fight between the Zahirovic that ended with her adopted father leaving her and her adopted mother for a handful of days, during which Mrs. Zahirovich readily took out her frustrations and anger on a defenseless Mileva. It was only because of a neighbor that CPS became involved, and once again Mileva was uprooted.

Being placed into the foster system turned Mileva’s life into an endless cycle of almosts. Almost wanted, almost loved, almost good enough to adopt but not quite enough for anything to ever come of it, no matter how polite or friendly she tried to present herself as. It came with the added struggle of her knowing virtually no English, having grown up in largely immigrant communities. This made her a target both inside and out of whatever home she was placed in. The taunts and teases were what caused her to be silent for a good portion of her time in the system, only really speaking once she was sure she wouldn’t be mocked as she tried to understand the light vowels and dipthongs that were so foreign to her. It was in the third grade, after constant mispronunciation and blatant disregard for her name, that she asked to start going by Miranda, a request that was readily accepted simply because it made things easier for everyone else.

While Miranda has her own fair share of horrible foster and group home experiences, she found that the homes she hated the most weren’t the ones filled with violence, but the ones where it would have made absolutely no difference if she was there or not. Miranda learned that for some people, she was simply a means to a paycheck. A way for her foster parents to make a bit of money, while she and the rest of the kids in her temporary home were largely made to do without for reasons that were far beyond their control. The homes where older children (and the occasional parent) would get physical were nowhere near as painful as knowing that she wasn’t much more than quick buck, expected to fend for herself in a system that seemed so anti-children in spite of its name. Violence she could handle. Being neglected though? That’s what hurt Miranda more than anything else.

In all, Miranda found herself shuffled between six homes during her time in the system. That isn’t to say all of them were less than caring. On the contrary, she is grateful that her final stint in a foster home left her with so many good memories rather than bad. The parents were nice enough – slightly in over their heads, but at least they made sure all her needs were meant. They even took her out on trips, out to eat or to Yankee Stadium, to the park or – for a very special treat – to see a Broadway show. It was at one such event that she met Shelby Corcoran, and Miranda will swear it was love at first sight. Even from her seat in the far corner of the theatre’s highest tier, she still captivated by every note that Shelby sung, And it was a chance encounter at a restaurant following the matinee performance that her and her foster parents had the honor of meeting Shelby. A small conversation was struck up, thanking her for the magnificent show she put on and eventually revealing Miranda to be a foster child and that, as they say, was history.

In just their short meeting, Shelby took an interest in Miranda – a young girl who, despite how quiet she was, had eyes that shown brighter than nothing else. Her and Miranda’s foster parents exchanged numbers (much to their absolute delight), and over the next few months Shelby and Miranda were given opportunities to talk and get to know one another. Miranda found herself spending her afternoons following school at Shelby’s home, meeting her other children and growing closer to the family with every passing day. Then, one bright Saturday morning in the middle of June, she was called downstairs to find Shelby, her foster parents, and her social worker sitting in the living room. Miranda’ first instinct was to ask what was wrong, immediately fearing the worst : that she was being sent to a different home, and Shelby’s presence was nothing but ill timing. She prepared herself for terrible news, but what came instead was a shock that left Miranda crying in the middle of the floor – Shelby had asked if she would like to become her daughter.

After nine years, two months, and eight days in the foster system, Miranda was adopted at age thirteen. She vividly remembers standing in the courtroom with Shelby at her side as her adoption was finalized, donned in the prettiest dress she’d ever owned and wearing a larger smile than any that had graced her face in years. Soon after, with very little necessary convincing to legally change her name, Mileva Lukič officially became Miranda Rosemary Corcoran, combining the name that had been her security blanket for so long with her mother’s (lord, how she will never tire of that word) middle name. She had a stable home, a family, love and care and everything she’d always only dreamed of. And it was just as wonderful as she’d imagined.

High school was easy enough, and Miranda found herself flourishing. Her years in the system had shown her so many people filled with self hatred and self doubt, and that was something Miranda decided she would refuse to accept. She was learning to love herself, and she would be damned if she didn’t do everything she could to show others they were just as worthy of loving themselves too. It was only after her adoption that Miranda gained a solid idea of what she wanted to do with her life. After witnessing first hand all the things that were wrong with the foster care system, Miranda made up her mind that she would play a role in fixing it, and has spoken out numerous times about her experiences and what needs to done for reformation.. Attending PSU seemed like a no brainer to her. Not only did it come with her mother’s recommendation, it also came with her siblings, a chance that Miranda would not soon pass up. Now as a sophomore, she is well on her way to receiving a BSW. The next step after that? Miranda’s not quite sure, but what she does know is that she is meant to do great things, to make this world a better place, and that is exactly what she plans to do.

BABY, THERE'S NO OTHER SUPERSTAR

Miranda is a fan of light colors, and is seldom seen wearing anything dark. Her wardrobe consists mainly of skinny jeans and well fitted blouse with the occasional skirt or blazer switched out. She very much enjoys the ‘business casual’ look for anytime she is out in public. Despite her short stature, she is rarely seen in heels, preferring the comfort of flats. She keeps her blonde hair at a medium cut, and has no piercings other than two in each earlobe. She has one tattoo on the back of her neck — 8.04.09, the day she was officially adopted.

YOU KNOW THAT I'LL BE YOUR PAPARAZZI