I do a lot of therapy groups, and one thing I have to state sometimes to people is that I was orphaned with living parents. I wasn’t raised by my biological parents, and turned 18 as a ward of the state. I have not met many people with this set of circumstances, so I want to ask if anyone here is comfortable sharing?
There are obvious negatives, I was homeless a number of times from 18-24 years of age. Stuggled a lot financially and finding my footing in life. I also have shit self esteem. Now in my late 30s, I never realized how much it effected me to not have an adult care about me as a child, well into adulthood and I still struggle. Also, holidays were rough until a few years ago.
The positives are I don’t have to deal with ass hole parents, dramas and such, and I don’t ever have to worry about their end of life care. I also learned what not to do when I became a parent myself, and have dedicated my life to ending generational trauma.
I was kicked out at 17. I was homeless for a short while, and spent some further time couch-surfing and then in what we essentially a halfway home. My 20s were rough, barely scraping by financially. But you can survive a lot in your 20s, and I’m glad I made it through.
I’m now 38, and it’s difficult to condense the journey I’ve had into a few paragraphs. I got married this year. We own a house in a beautiful, tree-filled neighborhood. I’m a software development team lead despite no degree or formal training.
My life wouldn’t be the same without the kindness of friends and strangers, second chances, and a sense of fierce and defiant optimism.
This is ao very true for me too. Thank you for sharing