Vol. 2, No. 1 • Fall 1997
Reasoning with myself
by VadieLife is war, peace, and love. We are all born into a world of hate, prejudice, and violence. You have to know how to live the street life to survive. Many innocent lives have been taken for insignificant reasons. Crazy reason!
Why does it have to be like this? Because people think they have to fit in. That's why the US is one of the biggest drug nations. People have to get high because they think they don't have a life and because they have no respect. If people would open their eyes, then they could see that our nation is taking a turn for the worse. I know what I'm saying because I've lived that life. I know how it feels to have to hustle to live. But now, I realize that I got out just in time. I'm almost 17 years old and I've been through more in my 17 years than most adults have been through in their whole life. I am wanting to change for good, but no matter what I do, trouble seems to find me. That's why I've made personal goals for myself. I want to graduate, go to college, have a good career, and maybe have a family of my own one day. I know that if I get back on the streets when I'm 18, I won't have anything but a thug life and I don't want that again.
Everyone has such high hopes for me and I can't disappoint anyone. Here are a few of my personal goals:
1. Concentrate on my school work and study.
2. Graduate from high school.
3. Pick my friends more carefully.
4. Don't mislead/be misled.
5. Be a leader, not a follower.
6. Work on my lying problem.
I am really serious about changing. I don't want to live the rest of my life in a cardboard box and be wearing rags for clothes. I know there's a lot of people who expect me to mess up for the rest of my life and live on the streets. But that's another really good reason to change. Look at (names withheld to preserve confidentiality). They're all dead and didn't have the chance to change. Think about it!
Do you know about Youth days?
by John McMahonHave you heard about Youth Days? Youth Days are day-long conferences for teens in foster care, foster parents, and the people who work with them. They are events where foster kids between the ages of 16 and 21 get together to meet each other, attend workshops, eat pizza, and think about their lives and their futures.
This focus on the future is one reason Youth Days are held on the campuses of North Carolina's community colleges. While you're there you get to tour the campus and talk to someone about what the college offers. You also get to attend workshops, some of which are led by successful adults who were once foster kids themselves.
Although they're really fun, Youth Days cause people to ask: what am I going to do when I get out of foster care? What am I going to do once I'm on my own? Of course, there are no easy answers to these questions, but a Youth Day doesn't just leave you hanging--it reminds you that if you make goals you can achieve them, and that you are not alone in life.
Youth Days happen every summer at several sites across North Carolina. They're put on by a group called Independent Living Resources, and they're paid for by the North Carolina Division of Social Services. If you are a NC foster child and are interested in attending the next Youth Day in your area, talk to your social worker or have your foster parent call Independent Living Resources at 1-800-820-0001.
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Youth Days are a good mix of learning and fun./\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
My eyes cry out to you
by Lamar, age 18The first time I saw you my eyes cried out to you.
It took a while for my eyes to let go, but
They did and so my eyes cry out to you. My
Eyes shared you with my feelings, and my feelings
Shared you with my mind and my mind shared you
With my heart, and that's why my eyes cried out to you.
The Art Contest
Below are the winners of the Fostering Perspectives "Kids' Pages Art Contest." which asked foster children to draw a picture of their family.
First Place
Jameka, age 15, received $100
Second Place
Sanchez, age 14, received $50
Third Place
Pam, age 11, received $25
Below are the winners of last issue's Fostering Perspectives "Kids' Pages Writing Contest," which asked foster children: "How do you describe who your foster parents are to your friends?"
First Place: A Tie!
by Eugene, age 7
I will invite my friend over to my house and I will let my friend meet my mom and I will tell my mom my friend's name. So, they will shake her hand and make friends and my mom might let my friend stay with me overnight and if they ask me if that's my mom I'll tell them "Yeah," because she loves us when my real mom could no longer take care of us. Mrs. Booth took us and we love her. She takes us to church a lot. We are learning a lot about God, and me and my brother sing in the choir. I look at my mom when we are in church and she looks happy when she sees us up there singing. I know she loves us. After church, people tell her "I know you're proud of your boys." She just smiles and says "Yes, I am."
by Randy, age 11
My name is Randy and I have a brother named Eugene and we have a foster mother named Mrs. Booth. She's had me ever since I was 5--that's why I call her "mother." Because she has been by my side when I needed her. Because one day I asked her if she could get my brother. Now we are together. When she got him he was 4. Now I am 11 and my brother is 7. We are up for adoption and we want her to adopt us. When it comes to my friends, they ask me "Who is that?" I say, "That's my mother." And when people ask her who we are she says "These are my sons." I know she loves us and we love her too. And one more thing: her whole family loves us.
Eugene and Randy were each awarded $50 for his entry.
Second Place
by Shian, age 17When I meet new friends, most of them don't know about foster parenting and DSS. So I try to explain my situation of how I ended up in foster care and in a foster home. When I get to the part about being in a foster home, I tell them who my foster parents are and what they're there for. I explain that they're a couple who have had children and now they've all grown up and moved away. After that, the Lord showed my foster mom to become a foster parent. Now along with my child there are five foster kids that live in our family. Our foster parents provide a place for us to live, food for us to eat, and the love that we desire and were never showed before. They're not allowed to spank us, but they give us the discipline we need. Such as restricting us from TV, our radio, and letting us go off with our friends. We go to church to worship God. My foster parents are Holy Ghost filled Christians. They're raising us up in church and trying to show us the right way to go in life. I think that's one of the most important things to our foster parents. I might not word my words exactly like this when I explain who my foster parents are to my friends, but that's mainly how I do it.
Shian was awarded $50 for her entry.
Third Place
by Chikeitha, age 17When I describe my Mom to anyone, I describe her as the best Mommy in the world, and that's what she is to me. She opened up her home to kids that need a home, no matter what race or sex they are. She accepts kids as they are and she considers them the best. My Mom treats every single youth that comes to live with her as if she birthed them herself. She spoils all of us rotten, and she gives us nothing but the best. My Mom goes beyond all of this, however: she gives us a gift that keeps on giving, and that's unconditional love.
Never in my life have I seen anyone as remarkable and special as she is. I have never introduced my mom as my "foster Mom" to anyone, because she has not been a "fake" Mother to me. She doesn't treat me like I am an outsider living inside her home; I am a part of her family and this is what a family is all about. No other name comes in front of her name of "Mom" because this is the only name she deserves. She will always be an inspirational and loving person in my life. Calling her "Momma" is an honor in itself.
Chikeitha was awarded $25 for her entry.
Honorable Mention
by Brittany, age 8Foster parents are two people who want to take care of a child whose parents are doing drugs or abusing them or something.
My foster parents' names are Ruth and Bob. We live in Wilmington, North Carolina. My foster parents are really nice. My daddy likes to ride motorcycles. My Mommy likes to play the violin. My daddy likes to play with our dog Sheba. My mommy likes to volunteer at my school. My daddy also likes to work in the yard a lot. They both like to spend time with me.
Brittany was awarded $15 for her entry.
For some good clean, colorful fun, make soap crayons to decorate your tub and yourself!
What you need:
- 1/8 cup water
- small bowl
- spoon
- 1 cup Ivory Soap laundry powder
- plastic ice cube trayWhat you do:
1. Mix Ivory Snow with water in a small bowl. Though it may not seem like enough water, keep mixing until you get a smooth paste.
2. When all the lumps have disappeared, add 1 tablespoon food coloring and mix well.
3. Spoon the mixture into the ice cube tray. Use your thumb to firmly pack the mixture into each cube.
4. Set tray in a warm spot, and let dry for three days.Now you're ready for a colorfully clean bath! Soap crayons are as safe as bar soap.
"Color Me Clean!" and "Holiday Card Science" courtesy of the Museum of Life and Science, 433 Murray Avenue, PO Box 15190, Durham, NC 27704. Tel: 919/220-5429.
Holiday card science
Use your cards from the holidays for this neat trick!
Can you cut a hole in a holiday card big enough to get your head through? Impossible, you say?
What you need:
- a 3" x 5" holiday card (or index card)
- a pair of scissorsWhat you do:
1. Fold the card in half lengthwise.
2. Make cuts from point Y to point Z as shown in figure #3.
3. Cut from point Y to point Z as shown in figure #3.
4. Unfold the card and pull it down over your head.
Get ready for Thanksgiving
Are you in the mood for Thanksgiving? See if you can find the following words in this puzzle:
- brisk - candy apples - chilly - cider - cranberry -
- fall - family - fireplace - football - friends - frost - gravy -
- harvest - leaves - pilgrim - pumpkin - rake - sweater - thanks - turkey -
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