In their own words...
I’ve just turned 16 and for the last 9 years I’ve been living an amazing life full of opportunities. My story may not be as extreme as some others, but the impact to my life is enormous. I can still remember the day I was taken away from my mother. It felt as though I had been ripped away and unceremoniously dumped into a pool of reality. The truths of my life were carelessly thrown at me as though it was nothing. There are few memories of that day. Two that stand out are not being allowed to hug my mother goodbye, getting in the social workers car and seeing my older sister, Jessica, with all her school stuff, crying. I clearly remember an overwhelming feeling of anger. We were taken to a facility for abused and neglected children. When we arrived, the three of us were split into different “cottages”. We were there for Christmas.
Katrina and I spent a few months in a foster home apart from Jessica. Right after my seventh birthday, a couple came over to our foster home. Even though we weren’t told why they were visiting I had a feeling it was to see about adopting us. A few weeks later my two sisters and I moved in with that couple. Six months later my mother said she would relinquish her rights if she could come and say goodbye to us. I finally got to hug my mom goodbye. About two years later our adoption was finalized. As we drove to the courthouse I said with relief how happy I was to not be a foster kid anymore.