Editor, Ceres Courier,

There are over 4,400 foster youth in the Stanislaus County alone, many of which end up homeless. Would you consider this privileged? Many foster youth who apply to college usually get admitted but most people who are not involved with the system think it is only because they are foster youth. Most students say they work hard and most have their parents to think for that. A foster youth does not have that support and most work as hard as they can to be able to say they are someone.

My foster father told me that I was privileged because I got into Chico State only because I am a foster child. It is not right to call someone who works harder than most - without support and guidance - privileged when being alone and having to grow up at a young age is anything but that. To have the strength to stay on top of your work and not give up is a privilege but to be without support and to feel unsafe and unwelcome in a place meant to be your home is a very degrading feeling. Just because there is a large amount of students who get into college who are foster youth does not mean we had more luck then every average teen. It is through hard work and dedication that helps foster youth strive to be a better person for ourselves and not because we have the privilege above others but because we have the stamina to not give up.

Cherith Franklin,
Ceres

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