Maria G. / Living in survival mode

The biggest challenge that Maria faced in foster care was going to school with the anxiety of not knowing where she would be moving next or what was going to happen during her court hearings. She always kept a journal with her and wrote down her thoughts, feelings, and was able to vent.

Going to therapy and journaling about her situation provided a release of anxieties and fears, and gave her a sense of calm when she was living in survival mode.

It gave her anxiety to live with people she had never met before and not know how long she would be there.

It was like she had to “keep 2 outfits packed” just in case she had to move again.

Foster youth have to go to court instead of morning classes. They have to go to supervised visitations after school. They have to be prepared to move homes after only a couple of months.

The holidays were always hard for Maria. Seeing family members greet each other that weren’t hers made her miss her own family that much more. She was lucky to have her own brother living in the same foster home as her — it made her feel less lonely.

Her foster parents could have provided her with more empathy. They could have communicated with her and been more transparent. They didn’t understand her struggles.

Being in foster care made her keep to herself a lot more. Because she would move so much, it was hard for her to keep friendships she had made. She noticed that at times she still has the tendency to keep to herself.

Being in foster care meant that she was living in survival mode.

Something that brought her comfort while she was in foster care was knowing that this wasn’t the end of her story.

She says, “You can’t control what has happened, but you can control your future and what you want to plan for yourself. You owe it to yourself to push through and make your dreams come true.”

While in foster care, Maria was very grateful to have a mentor through CASA. This relationship provided her with a sense of stability when she continued meeting after moving from home to home. Seeing them chase their dreams helped her accomplish her own goals.

She would like to see more mentoring services available to foster youth.

Maria is also an advocate for education. She says, “Having an education is the most valuable thing you could attain. Nobody can take that away from you and it will never be a disservice."

When she was emancipating from the system, she would have liked to have some financial support and a means to continue into higher education and find a career. Having no support from family or friends means she had to support herself.

An accomplishment that makes her proud is being accepted into a Ph.D program in Quantum Science and Engineering. In 5 years, she sees herself graduating and beginning her career as a Quantum Scientist!

Her advice to those in the system now is: “Take advantage of all of the support you are being offered. Believe you deserve the world and dream big. Don’t let this circumstance stop you from believing you are great!”