This 32-year-old woman grew up in the foster care system, and after she was bounced back and forth between homes, she was ultimately placed with a couple, her foster parents, when she was around 12 years old.
In the beginning, it seemed as though things would be okay, too. However, it quickly became clear to her that her foster parents didn’t actually view her as part of their family.
Instead of a daughter, she was treated like a live-in maid right after she moved in.
“They’d make me do all the cleaning, cooking, laundry – you name it. I was the one who scrubbed the floors, cooked their dinners, washed their clothes… even had to iron them to their standards,” she explained.
Despite taking care of practically all the household chores, she wasn’t allowed to participate in any other aspects of a normal childhood, either. She didn’t go to any after-school activities and wasn’t able to hang out with her friends. And when it came to dating, that was completely out of the picture.
Her foster parents would constantly tell her that she was “needed at home,” making it feel like her sole purpose in life was to serve them.
“If I didn’t do a good enough job or if I missed something, they’d punish me by giving me more chores, or they’d sometimes take food away,” she revealed.
Plus, as she navigated the tough transitions of adolescence, her foster parents were never there for her emotionally. Rather, she described them as “cold.”
Her foster parents did not help her with school and never showed her any encouragement. She also didn’t get any advice for her future.
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