Manuel F. / Never give up no matter how tough life can be

Manuel reflects on his time in the system, His biggest challenge in foster care was defending himself while being in a foster home. His foster brothers would beat him up and his foster mom or dad would do nothing about it. He overcame it by starting to defend himself. Being away from his family, brothers and sisters for the first time ever was difficult for him. They were so close, so being separated was very hard on them all. Not being able to see them everyday brought him the most anxiety. He wish people understood his experience in the system.

“They don't have to worry about living with complete strangers let alone bounce around from school to school. That can be very hard on a young child.”

“ I needed guidance I needed my family all back together. I needed a roof over my head and transportation as well..”

Manuel states education means everything to him. He believe if he didn't go to a foster home or if he didn't get a chance to live with his uncle and auntie that he wouldn't have made it this far in life. His favorite things to do are to attend sports events and to visit amusement parks.

What brought him comfort while in care, he played several sports while in high school. He lettered in 4 sports throughout his high school career from football,basketball, to baseball, track and field. It took him away from being locked up (Foster home) so to speak. It made him forget about being away from his family. His advice for those experiencing foster care like himself is:

“To never give up no matter how tough life can be. Because even though you feel like you have nobody you actually do have someone.”

One accomplishment that he is most proud of, is graduating from high with a 3.6 GPA. In 5 years he see himself with a college diploma. He visions himself having his own business while owning a house and having a loving family. His goals in life is to become a social worker that's what he is going to college for currently. He loves helping others.