I witnessed the foster care system when I was just 8 years old, though not as a foster child myself. My family fostered children for seven years, and we took in 7 children for varying amounts of time. As you can imagine, the foster system is a lot for an eight-year-old to wrap their mind around and it took me several years to fully comprehend why these often dirty and untrusting children were coming to my house and sharing my room. Eventually, I figured it out, and it was then that I allowed foster care to truly reframe my young mind and change the way I viewed the world. The first thing I learned about was the unfairness of the world. It was not right that these children just a couple of years younger than me had been taken from their parents and were dealing with permanent trauma while I was happily attending my gymnastics classes and piano lessons. The next thing I learned was that the foster care system was very broken. The trauma of the children coming to our house was only exacerbated by the impersonal rules of the state that did not have the best interest of the child at heart. The rules meant to keep the children safe were holding them back from receiving necessary care and support. The final thing that foster care taught me was that I wanted to help. Even as a 15-year-old, when my family stopped fostering, I knew that I could not just move on. It was clear that I had been gifted with a passion for foster care, and I wanted and still want to spend my life working with these children and in this field. I do not have a specific career goal yet but I know it will be in social services and I will hopefully work with the South Carolina Department of Social Services. I currently have an internship with the Isaiah 117 House, a nonprofit that works with children entering the foster care system and I recently visited the Department of Social Services with them. Walking around the offices excited me and I could envision myself working there, whether as a social worker or as someone with a similar job description. I intend to major in social work or an equivalent major at the college of my choice and go on to change the lives of as many children as possible.