My "So-Called EASY" Life

Oh mannn life is great! I am blessed and very grateful to see another Beautiful day pass away, having achieved many of my daily goals!! So I got to thinking about an incident that happened the other day.. I was in the middle of telling a few friends of mine how much I liked my car and the fact that I have a tutor for college and I am enjoying living on my own when one cut me off and just stared at me, wide-eyed, saying, "You're soooo lucky!!" Another followed, by saying "Yeah, everyone loves you! If I lived your life, I would be so much more happy!" Honestly, I was humbled yet shocked at these remarks. Not that I am an ungrateful person in any way, but there is a LOTTTTT more to my life than just having a cute car and a personal tutor!! I grew up in foster care!!! There was a life of hardships, struggles, doubtful feelings, and loneliness that I had to go through; but all of these experiences brought me exactly where I am right now in life- So here I would like to take a little time to explain where I come from and how exactly I got here.


Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy back when, back when there was no such thing as "laptops" or "cellphones" or even "Cd's" , there was an itty bitty teeny tiny baby girl named Corri . You see, Corri was born with a mohawk, meaning she came out READY TO LIVE LIFE TO THE EXTREME!!! Oh wait- that's not the story I was looking to share ...Let me start over.


So I was born in the late 80's to a uhhh, _________ Mother and a Father . =) I grew up primarily in Riverside, California, in the United States of America. I cannot count on one hand how many siblings I had growing up, because they would come and go and come back and go back and just keep coming until my Mom would yell outside that dinner was ready and our game of Freeze-Tag would end. =)


Skipping a few years ahead, I was in my early teenage years when I entered the foster siblings, due to being mistreated by my own parents in many ways . My Twin sister and I were the only ones who got to stay together, while the rest of us got separated into different foster homes in different cities in California. This was extremely hard for me, and it still is to this day, trying to keep in contact with all of 9 of them now and maintaining regular visits with them in their various homes.


Foster care was not easy at all. I used to complain when I lived with my own parents that I felt neglected, never could do anything I wanted, was being held under harsh conditions of child labor and adolescent slavery, felt like an adopted child, etc. Since I emancipated and have moved 29 times in my life and gone through 17 schools since kindergarten, I must say that I had MANY crazy parents! Some were nice, others were strict. Some let us play outside, others did not. Some would not let us "foster kids" even sit on their living room furniture because we were "just foster kids" and MANY, if not ALL but 1 foster home, treated their own kids like angels and me like dirt. Literally and in all seriousness, it was not fun.


Skipping Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy ahead, EMANCIPATION. In foster care all around the world, here's the one rule that still keeps foster teens cringing as they think of their near futures. THE DAY YOU TURN 18 YEARS OLD, YOU HAVE 3 DAYS TO MOVE OUT. Isn't that sad and SCARY and harsh at the same time?? According to MANY statistics, even kids WITH parents are not considered fully independent until age 26!! So we gotta put on the grown-up mask and the big red high-heels at a really early age and head out into the world. Luckily for me, I used my resources.

HERE'S WHAT SEPARATES THE SUCCESSFUL FOSTER YOUTH FROM THE UNSUCCESSFUL FOSTER YOUTH- RESOURCES.

BASICALLY, all I needed was a computer. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO CARE ABOUT FOSTER YOUTH AND WANT TO HELP. THEY ARE WAITING FOR YOUTH TO JUST REACH OUT- AND THEY'LL DO ALL THEY CAN TO HELP. Some of these Angels are among my favorite organizations:

-Orphan foundation of America
-Friends of Foster Children
-Hillsides Home for Abused Children YMO chapter>

There are MANY more, but these are the 3 most influential Organizations that have the MOST POSITIVE IMPACT IN MY LIFE. I am and will forever be grateful for these 3 programs!!!! They are the reason I am here today, and the reason that I am ALIVE. They probably will never understand to what extent my gratitude reaches- because of them, I have hope in a brighter future- not only for myself, but for my siblings, my future children, and all of the foster youth that I plan on advocating for in the near future. I really aspire to be just like Hillsides, UFC and OFA, in helping little ones with big dreams create a better world!!

Hillsides has helped me by providing me with a place to stay. I lived on campus of Cal State San Bernardino for one year- and it was great- but soooooooo expensive!! When one emancipates, there's no point in trying to smuggle for almost $2,000 a month just for a tiny 2 bedroom apartment that was about 1,800 square feet in diameter. Wasn't worth it. At YMO, we're given an apartment that we DO pay monthly rent on that helps us out by starting off at a low rate, then increasing rent every 3 months. This teaches us to keep up with their demands and to work more efficiently to be able to pay for it and our other expenses. YMO gives us personal mentors and case managers who teach and assist us in time management, money management, planning for the future, life skills, etc. etc. ETC!!! They have classes and activities that we can go to that help develop out social skills and independent living skills also. THEY'RE AMAZING!!!!

The Orphan Foundation of America has helped by making it possible that I can utilize personal mentors online whenever I have questions about school, vocational training, career paths, etc. They also help me to receive funding for school. I think its amazing that they are one of those organizations who ACTUALLY DO CARE- they are not just hidden people being a wall who throw checks over the wall and tell us to go to college- no, Tina Raheem and Mary Imler are two of the most Amazing women I've [n]ever met!! They inspire me each week with encouraging emails, boost my confidence when I'm struggling in school, fill me in on opportunities that are specifically for former foster youth, and even offer suggestions on how I can improve my study habits, time management, ease stress when finals come along, etc. THEY'RE SPECTACULAR!!!!

United Friends of Foster Children works with hillsides and they have helped me by showing me that they care about me and my necessities of daily living. When school started this fall I was super overwhelmed wit a busy workload, trying to figure out how I can slip a little sliver of classes into my already overloaded schedule...and I came home and there was a CARE PACKAGE on my bed one afternoon with school supplies!! On Christmas morning, after being stranded in Fontana on Christmas Eve, while my old car broke down, not having anyone to come and help, I finally got home really late on Christmas night and waiting for me in my living room was a HUUUUGE Christmas present with all kinds of goodies in it! When I first moved into YMO and having an apartment so empty I could sing in a quartet with my own echoes, all I wanted was a microwave- I didn't mind having a used one, or even getting one from a second-hand store, or even for a Christmas present- heck, I didn't mind a 3 month wait.. but one day the YMO director knocked on my door and gave me a BRAND NEW microwave, vacuum cleaner, household cleaning supplies, complete new furnishings and even gift cards for the nearest grocery store!! If that wasn't enough, they leave random care packages for each holiday in my apartment all the time! I really have no idea who these people are, or what motivates them, but I AM SOOOO GRATEFUL for them and I send them back thank you letters each time.

Because of these 3 organizations, I am pivoting my life and recycling the old me. I am so amazed that these people care about me enough to watch out for me and support and mentor me that I want be just like them when I grow up!! I am super excited for my near future and even if no one reads this blog, I just wanted to express my deep and sincere gratitude for these "Parental Figures" in my life. I would absolutely be honored to be the person they all envisioned their scholars would one day be like after receiving such support from them. And I will be. =)



Here are some of mine and my Twin sister's most recent successes since we emancipated- ENJOY!! MORE COMING SOON! :) :)

-Twinsworld.com- we were featured as "Happy Twins":

-Jetsetting Magazine told our success story to the world a few months back:

-Riverside County Connection-"Turning Point for Foster Children article"- We are considered all of Riverside County's Successfully Emancipated Foster Youth

-Karri Pierce on Helium.com- profile and poetry

-Corri Pierce on Helium.com- profile and poetry