Foster children are called so many things. Many of the descriptions used for foster children are negative, so we wanted to find some positive traits that will serve to inspire current and former foster children to cultivate these traits and use them to create bright futures for themselves. This week, we are focusing on strong, resilient, and fighters.
Foster children are strong - they have to be. There is no way a child could make it through abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment, immediately followed by being ripped from the only thing they've ever known and likely moved from home to home for months or even years, without being strong.
Foster children are resilient - in most cases, they will make it to adulthood and be relatively "normal". Although all foster children have inevitable traumas, most are able to power through it and be successful members of society - holding jobs, getting married, raising children, and appearing "normal" to most everyone else.
Foster children are fighters - they often have to fight for things other children take for granted... Having relationships with their biological family (even their siblings), attending a normal school, getting to have a sleepover at a friend's house, even things you would think were no-brainers, like getting to go away to college (especially prestigious ones like Juilliard which require an audition in advance of acceptance).
From separation and loss, I have learned a lot. I have become strong and resilient, as is the case of almost every human being exposed to life and to the world. We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.
- Isabel Allende
Please come back next week to read Positive Things About Foster Kids, Part 4: Compassionate and Great Counselors.