Choosing Myself
In 17 years, I’ve had to move more than 10 times throughout New York City. In 3rd grade, I attended five different schools. As a child, I never understood why my family moved around like a military family, but now I know some of the reasons. When my twin brother and I were born, my […]
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Life On My Own
Foster care was a pretty good experience for me. I came into care when I was 15, and was placed with a good foster mother, Blanca, right away. She helped me stay on track, and so did some of my foster care workers. My caseworker Candice Sparkman really motivated me: She was my agency mom. […]
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I Finally Got an Apartment, but I Still Want to Be Adopted
Names have been changed. My parents abused and neglected me, and I went into care when I was 15. I lucked out getting Teresa for a foster mother. She was the first true mother figure I had. Six years later, I am still living with her and she is in the process of adopting me. […]
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Losing the Most Important Connection
I recently wrote a YCteen story about how difficult it was for me to reconnect with my mother after being separated from her for so long. We’re originally from Colombia and she came to the United States before me, when I was only 5. I was not able to join her until I was 12, […]
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