| The Board of Child Care gave me my turning point By Angela B. In March 1999, I was considered a runaway. I was on the run for two months from my foster home where I had been forced to lay my head for three years. I was getting in all different types of trouble, drinking, taking drugs and acting out of control. I thought that since I was 16, I knew everything and that no one could tell me any differently. I was finally caught in my old neighborhood and picked up by two police officers. I was then taken to the Board of Child Care where I was to remain until my foster mother decided if she wanted me back. About three weeks passed and my foster mother came to the decision to close the door on me. I was a lost cause. I remained in Kelso, a shelter at Board of Child Care, for two months. During the first month of being there I got into several fights, and ran away one night with other girls so we could drink and get into more trouble. I felt lost and alone But living at Kelso also gave me the chance to think about what I wanted. At Kelso, children and youth are given staff advocates, counselors and spiritual gbwc_superuserance. They help you learn to live in the right way by becoming your confidant, looking out for your best interest and helping you adjust to group home living. Kelso residents make regular visits to chapel vespers and can talk about anything that they want to discuss with their advocate. Counselors also talk with the residents and help them think through their goals and their future. I finally asked myself, Why am I doing this? It was stupid. So what was the point? I finally came to the decision that I do need to do stuff for myself but I have to do it in a positive way. No one can do for me the way I can do for myself. I wasnt a bad person; I was just on the wrong path to self-destruction and needed some faith. I finally started getting my act together because I wanted to be someone. I didnt want to prove it to anyone but myself. I had to do it for myself. This was the turning point in my life. I started to make something good out of a bad thing. I did so well that I was accepted into the transitional living program that teaches teens to live on their own. I arrived in transitional living in July 1999, and graduated from Franklin High School while working at a United Methodist church. I went to Catonsville Community College for two semesters, then looked at some other schools. I started in September of 2001 and the course I took was Medical Office Administrator. This was the first time I had ever received straight As in school. I finished Medix School in October, 2002 with a GPA of 3.84. My graduation is set for March. I am now employed full time at a physicians group practice that is affiliated with Sinai Hospital. I am also in the process of being certified as a medical office administrator. I turned 20 years old this fall and I plan on moving out between now and March. Success is not only about hard work but also about determination and motivation. Without determination and motivation there is no reason to work hard for what you want. Being in foster care is not something bad; it gives you an opportunity to live in the right way. Education is the key. Without education you will not get far in life. You can be whatever you want to be; you just have to have the motivation and determination to do something with yourself because no one is going to do for you the way you can do for yourself. That is the biggest lesson I have learned in life. The Board of Child Care is a United Methodist ministry committed to abused, abandoned and neglected children and their families. | 
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