Page 10
Commentary
Street Roots • July 8-14, 2016
regon Foster Youth Connection is a statewide, youth-led advocacy group of current and former foster
y o u th s ages 14 to 25. OFYC trains and e m p o w e rs y o u th s to a ctively participate in the development of
policies, programs and practices that improve the lives of the thousands of kids in foster care. Today
they’ve decided to share some of themselves with you.
O
By DeAnna
he was a diamond lost between
the cracks of social norm. A
young girl with no stability and
no control. She never had a consistent
home. Addictions were the only thing
she was ever shown. .
She’s a disaster with an innocent
smile. A storm ranging in a precious
mind. A brain that had limitless secrets
to hide. She was everything and
anything but a naive child.
When she was drowning in doubts
she learned drugs made life’s problems
disappear. She learned it made
people’s faces fuzzy, and the venomous
words no longer h u rt She saw her
body change but she wasn’t fazed. The
disgust on people’s face when her
problems came uncaged was nothing
compared to self-hate locked in her
brain.
She wasn’t always this way. Growing
up in the system, she was told she’s
just another kid in need of a new foster
home. Sometimes she wished time
could rewind and she could try life in a
different time.
She deserved more. More than
sleep that consisted of constant
nightmares. More than parents that
forgot her. More than the hurtful
words of strangers taunting her. She
deserved more. She deserved to know
she could never be replaceable.
S
Empty Promises
By Glayz Welch
My entire life is fueled off of
The empty promises
“I promise this is a forever thing”
“I will never leave again”
“You will always be my baby girl”
“I swear you’re the only one”
And that’s only a few of them
The list goes on and on
It surely doesn’t help when my Daddy
sometimes says,
“Try not to keep your hopes up
You’ll just regret it in the end”
And then there goes my Mommy,
“I wish I’d never let you in
I truly don’t want to see you,
Never again”
I mean,
I know my Daddy is a drunk
And my Momma’s an addict, too
But I really thought
For once that
Their love had broken through
I know everybody says
My parents will always care
But if I’m being honest
I just want them to be there
If not for me,
Then most certainly
For the siblings that I love
Because in my mind
There is a list and they are most
certainly above
They’re my little angels
No matter what bad they have done
I will always love them for being them
All four of them, not just one.
By DeAnna
wake up in the morning and tell
myself it’s going to be OK. I walk
out of my room and have to remind
myself that this family isn’t the same.
Every home is different, the rules
always change. Stability is a luxury not
a lot of us are given a chance to waste.
Cultures are different, we’re never
raised one way. Growing up with
strangers, sometimes it’s hard to stay
sane. Counseling is a given, we’re all
fucked up some way. Adults like to
make our life seem like a game THEY
can dictate.
Schools change and friends are hard
to make. Moving from house to house
messes with a young brain.
My parents are still in the picture
much to some people’s distaste.
Adoption’s a word that’s always shoved
in my face. My decision doesn’t matter
because of my age. I’m unlucky
enough to fall in an awkward age
frame. I’m too young to have a say but
old enough to have a functioning brain.
I know everything that’s going on,
whether people like it or not. Some
people want to shelter me but what
they re too blind to see, is growing up
in the system, you’re not given a
chance to be naive.
I
Continued on Page 11