Adopted teenager: ‘I’m one of the lucky ones’
“When I was in foster care I would think, ‘Why, God? Why did this happen to me? What have I done to deserve this?’ Then I started thinking that maybe I was placed in this situation so I could show how strong I really am. And I think I have proven to people that I am strong. I’ve lived through some challenging times in my life, and I’ve grown from all my experiences.
“One thing I learned was to never give up. There were times when I thought, I’m going to be in foster care until I’m 18. You want to have hope, but you can never get too excited. Because when you get your hopes up too much, that’s when you can get hurt. But you should never completely give up hope, either. I didn’t.
“For three years, I haven’t really known what I’ve been feeling. All my feelings and emotions have been so mixed up. But when my adoption became official, right then at that moment, I thought I was lucky. I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m the one out of five kids in foster care who gets adopted and ends up in a good home.
“And while I want it, I also feel bad for the other kids who are still waiting or may never get adopted. It sucks that there are so many teenagers and younger children who don’t have what I have now. It doesn’t seem fair. It makes me really sad.”
— Cheyenne Prescott-Espinoza
After nearly three years in foster care in Florida, Cheyenne was officially adopted by Samantha Villegas Espinoza and Eufemia Espinoza on Sept. 27, 2018. Cheyenne, 14, is Eufemia’s biological niece.
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