Aishanae G. / It gets better later.

Aishanae talks about her biggest challenge she faced in foster care. Going to school was one of the biggest challenge she faced in the system. She was being moved around a lot. A lot of her credits started going missing. Senior year she had to go to a continuation school and was able to finish high school on time. She just missed out on things like prom and grad night. She wasn’t able to experience life as a senior.

Navigating the foster care system, one of the most difficult part she faced in the foster care system was being away from her siblings. They were all far apart and hardly got visitation with one another. At a certain age they stopped having visits all together.

She think the general public can have places where we can hang out, study, help find jobs that fit us even after we age out. We are still young and need help even after extended foster care. It feels like we have just been forgotten about.

"They could have actually cared about my education. I felt like I was fighting battles in my mind and real life. I felt like I was alone even when I really wasn't.."

She wishes people understood we are scared when first entering the system. She wish people would understand how hard we tried to fit in even though we never felt like we actually belonged. She would like to see more foster homes but not just any foster homes that treat us like we are their own children. Not like its a set schedule like we are in school.

She speaks on the barriers she faced when it came to school. The main thing that would have help her while obtaining her high school diploma was staying in one high school. She moved around so much it was hard to stay on topic and keep up with her credits.

As she reflects on her foster care journey, she identifies comfort and how her mentor helped her with getting into school and finding a job. She was also like a personal friend always there when she needed her. She could literally call for anything.

She is most proud of graduating high school. It was at one point in her life where she gave up because she had became overwhelmed with everything she was going through. Once she found out she was pregnant she wanted way more for her and her baby.

Her advice to those in foster care now is:

"I would tell them it gets better later. Ignore the world and stay on track you will be able to go wherever you want to in the world. This is just for now."

She envisions herself as a MRI graduate continuing her education while taking care of my two sons. She envisions herself in a beautiful home with a nice car. Not having to worry about how she’s going to pay her rent or bills. Her goal is to become and MRI Tech.