When you get start to get older in the system, you start to feel like no one wants you. You know, like, "Man, no one is gonna adopt me. There's no way." For the longest time I
felt so uncomfortable. Like, they can either send me somewhere,
take me to another place saying this isn't working or kick me out. And it had
always been like that, all the homes I've been to I can't imagine where they've
been and they've been through more of the system than I ever have but I can
meet them at this line and say, "Okay, you're gonna understand what it's like to be in the family. You're gonna understand what it's like to have somebody that cares for you and is gonna back you up and somebody that's
gonna disagree with you but still support you. I would give my mom a hard time. Like,
I was bad. There was one time where I had like an episode and I was like going crazy in my room throwing things. I told my mom, I was like, "Just let me go, I don't care. Just like, let me run away." I was like, "I'll go out on the street, I'll
do whatever I want." She was like, "No, Shawn, you can't do that." I was just an angry kid, I think, it's just my past. I didn't know how to deal with it. The only way I could deal with it is just be mad. In that moment, just her being there being so patient with me understanding and not giving up on me that changed a lot for
me. Then I kind of gave in and was like, "Okay, this this person really cares about me." I knew like just over time just how much she like wanted to do was best for me. Even though I like I hated it at the time, but her going to my basketball games, her being at every game and like supporting me that way...I think that I
was like a real big sign for me. When we officially got the court date scheduled, that's when I started trusting my family. And I started communicating better with
them. You can make such a difference in your own community by committing to some time with teenagers. People will give up on teenagers cause teenagers are rough. Teenagers really need a strong foundation, a good family, because that's
when they're gonna they're gonna figure out everything about themselves in that
time you do so much growth, you know, in those four years and I felt like if if
you have an unstable home, it's hard. I never thought I would be adopted, especially at that age. Especially being adopted with my brother. But I think, like, it really makes a big difference. Like, for me and my brother, it was like it was nuts for us to even be adopted. Two African-American teens, like, especially two brothers and then at the age that we were itself. And it's like, I just don't think that there's enough people bold enough to do it. Teenagers...they have dreams. They have things that they want to do and it helps when you have a strong support
system. It sticks with them. And without that support system, it makes it very hard to do what you want to do. My mom's never given up on me. I'm very thankful for that. All kids need that and teens too. Just, I would encourage people to
consider teens. There are so many teenagers out there quote-unquote in the system that are not going to have a base to come back to, that are not going to
have a family to fall back, on a family that's gonna come and visit them for
graduation from college, a family that's gonna support them. I don't know, it'll surprise you how good kids are that are in the system that are teens and stuff. They have more to offer than what meets the eye. Just, more people have to be
bold enough to try it.
