Every child needs to be loved, cared for, supported, and raised by their biological parents. There are some children that do not have that opportunity to be raised by their biological parents. Some have to be raised by legal guardians such as aunts and uncles, cousins, family friends, and grandparents. This is my story on how my life was turned upside down by my parents actions and how my grandparents saved my life and my little sister’s life.
Having grandparents at the ages of 54 and 60, who gave up everything, their job, their church, just to take you and your special needs little sister in and take care of you, love you, give you a roof over your head, feed you, clothe you and make sure that you have everything you need and want, that means a lot. Growing up without my biological parents was hard. Not only did I lose my mom; but I also lost my father! I have not seen my biological father in over 16 years due to his actions when I was 4 and half!! I have seen my mother since then but things just got too hard for me to deal with so I stopped seeing her when I was 10 years old. What childhood I remember with my biological parents is very faint, but what happened to me and my sister is very vivid to me. My sister and I spent most of our childhood with our grandparents! Before I was enrolled in school, my grandmother, whom I call my mom, that I had to go to college to make something of myself and that failure was not an option for me!! I always done well in school or at least I tried to. The fondest memory I have of elementary school, is when my grandmother, who raised me, would sit at the kitchen table for hours on end and help me with homework. If it had not been for the Lord and for my grandmother I would not be where I am today!! If my grandmother had not pushed me to do my best I would not be in college right now.
Losing my sister back in 2014, changed my life forever. The summer of my senior year of high school, I finally decided what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to become a DCS social worker. I wanted to use my story to help other children whose life has been turned upside down by their parents actions. I graduated from Oneida High School in 2019 and I am currently a sophomore at Roane State and if everything goes as planned I am expected to graduate this December. I plan on going to the University of Tennessee School of Social Work. I want o help other children get through this hard and rough road. I think that children will open up more about what happened if they knew that they had someone who has walked in their shoes, and knows what it is like to be abused by their biological parents.
I am going to college to make a difference in children whose lives were turned upside down by their parents actions. I was that child once. I thought my life was over. I felt as if I was the cause of what happened to me and my sister. I thank God and my grandparents for giving me a life that I needed to have and for showing me that just because I had to deal with this did not mean that I could not have a life or I could not have dreams. Having to deal with this made me stronger and made me want to follow my dreams of becoming something that I was passionate about. I want to show children that it is not their fault when their parents abuse them or they are placed in foster care. I want them to follow their hearts and follow their dreams. I am taking my story and using it for the better of other children. I want children to have someone they can look up to and have someone they can trust. I want children to know that they are not alone and that they will always have someone in their corner to protect them when no one else will!!!