My name is Jocelyn and I’m 17 years old. My playlist consists of Korn and Metallica. In my free time I like playing Pokémon, watching Anime, reading Manga and listening to music. They are the things I do to practice self-care.
I have crooked teeth. I think that it would help me with my speaking because I have a lisp. I just want straight teeth.
I’m probably going to work at like the mall or something. I’m thinking at Hot Topic. I don’t know if I want to go to school or anything.
I came into care because my mom was mentally ill. She’s schizo-affective bi-polar, some other things like that. My bio dad died when I was like 3.
After high school I'm probably going to work at the mall or something. I don't know if I want to go to school or something.
My foster care experience overall was probably like okay but my first one was bad because they didn’t know anything about mental health and stuff like that. They were just like really hateful. They would compare their experience, or my old foster mom would compare her experiences and childhood trauma with ours. She was overall super childish and inappropriate. I have ADHD, she acted like I didn’t have it. There just wasn’t an effort to be compassionate or educate themselves about mental health.
In my current foster home, they’re patient and the they know about mental health, like taking medication and know about that type of stuff.
Foster care has made my life better because I feel like I opened up better (with my current placement), I am learning how to be an adult – like driving practice.
If there was one thing I would change about foster care it would be mental health awareness. I feel like there can be more done with how the foster homes are chosen, like educating them about autism, disorders, and trauma and stuff like that. I wish my first foster home were more educated and understanding like my current home.