Vol. 7, No. 1• November 2002

 

 

Here's a Chance to Express Yourself!

Are you someone who is or has been in foster care? Would you like a chance to share your ideas and artistic talents with the foster parents and social workers who read Fostering Perspectives? If you answered yes to these questions, consider submitting a drawing, poem, essay, or other work of self-expression for publication in this newsletter. If your work is published in the newsletter, you will also receive a small cash award. Mail your submission to: John McMahon, Jordan Institute for Families, 340 Victoria Rd., Pines Bldg., Room 403, Asheville, NC 28801. Artwork should be mailed flat (unfolded) on white, unlined paper. Include your name, age, address, social security number (used to process awards only, your confidentiality will be protected) and phone number.

 

Mystery of Life

By Elisha, age 15

The mystery of life, what can be said?
We are put here for answers or until we are dead.

The truth is unknown, the puzzles we must solve
Yet sometimes it feels as if the Earth doesn’t resolve.

Love is by far the worst pain and joy of them all.
When someone special leaves, my heart feels so small.

Sometimes it’s meant, but this time it’s not.
We think
However it’s impossible for the memories to fade away.

Sometimes it’s hard and we feel so alone.
Problems don’t shrink—they have grown.

Love is one of those things you can’t explain.
We try to let it out, but no one knows the pain.

Sometimes I can’t understand how I feel.
I hope they know my love for them is real.

They say they will always be here for me.
I know their love is true.

The heartache is enough to make me cry every day.
I wish every foster child had foster parents like mine.

The days grow on and I waken.
I realize really if every foster child had parents like mine
They wouldn’t know how real life is.

Respect your foster parents.
One day you will let them know how much they have helped you.
Let them know how much you love them.

The mystery of life no one will ever know!

Author’s Note:
Now I’m adopted and very happy.
Don’t ever give up on life. It’s rough, but you can
make it, because I did. I have a sister who is
four years old and we were adopted by different
foster parents. Life is a mystery, it’s what you
want it to be . . .

 

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Advice I’d Have Given Myself: Learning from Mistakes

by Sara Gardner

I didn’t have the ideal childhood and I was very resentful, as are many other foster children. Also, I didn’t really pay attention to the advice given to me. In hindsight, this is what I would tell myself.

I would tell myself that I shouldn’t wait until I am 20 or 30 to start taking responsibility for my actions. I got into trouble over and over again until I realized that even as a teenager I had to start thinking ahead. I have come to realize that the choices I make as a teenager will affect the rest of my life.

For example, a few years ago I was given the choice to go back home with my mother. If I had thought about the long-term effects of this decision, I never would have gone back home. I only thought about how going home would give me more freedom and less responsibility. I put myself back into a bad situation and I ended up returning to foster care.

I would also tell myself not to procrastinate. This is one of my biggest faults. I always pushed things off and when these things did not get done, I had to face the consequences.

Even though I don’t really know if I would have taken this advice in the past, I feel good knowing that I have matured and can reflect on my mistakes. The point of making mistakes is to be able to learn from them.

Copyright 2002 by Youth Communication. Reprinted with permission from The Winners, 100 Prize-Winning Essays by Teens in Foster Care, published by Youth Communication. For more information or to order copies of this publication, call 212/279-0708 x. 100, or go to www.youthcomm.org.

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