Sketches for Mr. Andy's class

Homeless to Tennessee Tech.

I will never forget this as long as I live! I could not figure out why some people have everything they want, and others get nothing. In my own life I wondered why things happened to me the way it did. Til this day I will never forget the life changing event that happened to me. It all started in July of 1996. I was in the first grade, I was a little girl, I was playing on the play ground when my mom come to pick me up. I remeber all of are stuff was in the backseat of the car and in the trunk. I couldn't understand why, what was going on. I mean I was only 6, what was I suppose to do. I remeber we made a stop at a motel for the night, and headed to Tennessee, when we did that we were in Nashville, where I will never forget what happened. I just remeber going to school, and claiming my grannys house as my place of residence. But it wasn't, my place of residence, my place of residence was my car. Every day it was the same, I would put my seat back and go to sleep. I would get up at 4 a.m., because I had to be at school at 8. When that happened, I would wash up in the resturant were, my mother and I, ate breakfast. I would take my close from the day before off, and put them aside. Of course, I would go in the stall, and take a wash rag that I wet at the sink, and would wash up with that. Then I would wash my hair in the sink, well itless wet it, and put shampoo on it, then I would go back in the stall and lather it up. Then I would go back to the sink and wash the suds off my hair. All this lasted for a couple of months, until the teacher noticed a bruise on my arms and legs, so she called the cops. They showed up at my granny's house, and she said that she did not know that I was back in town. So for some reason, the Department of children service got involved, so I wen't into a foster home, were I stayed for like a month. Then my grandmother come to get me, because she had to take a class on raising a child. All was going well, then after a year of being with my grandmother my own birth mother come back in my life, and tried disturbing what good of a life I had left. So, on December 17, 1990, I was placed in a foster home, were I stayed till May of 2000, then I moved to Miami, Florida. I stayed there for a little bit over a year then I came back to Tennessee in 2001, after getting adopted, by one of my uncle's and aunt's. Mom manage to come back in my life once again and tear every ounce of happiness I had. Why couldn't she just have let me alone? Why couldn't she just allow me to have a normal life. Instead, I had to grow up wondering why the hell everything happened to me. So I will just say, for now, I went back to the foster home that I was in. Graduated high school at Livingston Academy, I graduated with taking all honors classess and with a 3.89, I am so proud of that. Now I am 18 and a student at Tennessee Tech, majoring in education. I only hope that one day I will merely touch a childs life.

How I overcame the barriers that were placed on me.

Like I said previously that I grew up in a home, were it kinda wasn't the best scenerio in the world. Finally when I had the chance to be normal, something happened. It wasn't that I wasn't smart, it was just I felt like no one cared about me. I remeber when I was in the 8th grade and I was fixing to go into high school, the teacher called my grandma up and said well she needs to be in special ed classes because she is not smart enough to go to class with the kids that are planning on going to college. That was such a bummer to me, I told grandma that I didnt want to do special ed, that instead I wanted to take all honors classess and I want to go to college. I was wanting to try, I wanted to make something of myself. So when I started highschool, I started with a brand new slate, I studied so hard and I wanted to make something of my self. Not for the fun of it, but just to show people that for once I am somebody. Little did I know that all that hardwork would pay off. Not only did I graduate high school, and get a diploma. I graduated with a 3.89, and in two different honor societies. This passed summer I went back to that counselor, and said you know how you said I would never make it to college. Well I took all honors classes, and graduated in the top of my class. And you will never guess I am now attended Tennessee Tech, where I am doing well, and got a full ride to college.

How I survived while living in a foster home

This is hard for me to talk about, but I need to get it off my chest. I am wondering now how I am actually were I am at today. Ok who would of honestly thougt that me some foster kid that should be in jail because that is the type of value that people place on kids like me. That of course is not the case, and it pisses me off, when people ask me so why were you in foster care? Did you steal a car? Or rob a bank? Or was you unruly. My answer wants to be, no dumbass, I am in foster car, because of what my mother did she neglected to take care of my needs so there fore, I had to grow up away from her. Which in my case was the best thing for me. It allowed me the chance to grow up and be normal, and go to college, and get away from her, and her bad decisions. Well I had to self teach my self at an early age. In order, "To do good things in this world, you must first know who you are and give that meaning to your life." Infact, the reason why things are going good for me now is because, I am away from all that bad stuff. My foster mother was great to me, she loved me and cared for me. I was in her home for about 8 or 9 years. Even that, I knew that one of these days I was going to be on my own, so I got on the right path in life. That is why I am here to day, and I know that I am not a screw up. There is a reason behind everything, and you know what I have become a strong christian as a result of all this.