Since I'd spent time in foster care I was entitled to some help to go to school. I was not emotionally ready. I didn't know how to study, I wasn't disciplined, I didn't know how to be in the world and I didn't have much guidance. I was living on my own equipped with on the brief year I spent with my foster mother. I wasn't going to school because I didn't know what I was doing, I was embarrassed and ashamed and I felt inadequate. In some classes I managed to pull passing grades but there was still no direction. I began to just work any little job I could get my hands on and again my lack of discipline and general naiveness kept me getting fired or I would quit. I knew I wanted more but didnt know what to do.

 

I had gotten fired, this time unfairly, but fired none the less. I was living in a shady roommate situation and we were getting evicted. I was 22 years old with no car, no cell phone, no home and no money. I did what any sensible person would do and went out to spend what little money I had to my name at the bar. Little did I know that I would be meet the person that would change my trajectory for the better that night. 

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I met Ivan and he lived in a huge house his family owned and had extra rooms available. He let me have an empty room for the night. I was gathering my things and asked to use his phone so I could find the next couch to sleep on. He told me I could stay with him rent free until I got on my feet. A week later I was helping him with his resume at his mother's house and she was in her school scrubs. I asked her what she going to school for, she told me medical billing and coding. I asked her if she thought I could do that, she said set up an appointment and see. I called that day and went the next morning. I took the assessment and turned it in afraid of rejection. The recruiter looked at my results and told I passed with "flying colors." I was shocked. 

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I began the Health Information Technology program in February of 2009. I had also gotten a job at Old Navy a few months before and earned enough to turn my phone on and had money to eat and was able to save a little. After a month or so of being in school I earned a work study position. I was doing very well, I made the Dean's list and was at the top of my class. Staff from other departments were giving me support by writing recommendations and connecting me to people who could offer opportunities in the future. The time flew and I graduated! BUT I could not find a job in my field because of the recession. I was devastated. For the next 3 years I worked in bars and restaurants feeling completely defeated and I accepted that my life would never amount to anything beyond working in restaurants.

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