Media
In this video, Angela speaks at the 2018 NASPA Annual Conference on her experience going From Foster Care to College: Finding a Family on Campus. She shares recommendations for how higher education and student affairs practitioners can improve support for students with experience in foster care and closes with a poem she wrote on the complexities of foster care experience.
I Am From
By Angela Hoffman
I am from temporary homes.
I am from trailer parks and bottles wrapped in paper bags.
Yet somehow Iām also from landscaped suburbia and children at play.
ā
I am from āitās because of youā and āyou did this to me.ā
My mother would yell, āYouāre a lesbo, youāre a slut, and youāre a son of a B.ā
ā
I am from physical illness and diseases of the mind.
Just hide your scars and pretend everything is fine.
I am from āmake it look goodā and say you love me.ā
How I really feel is that ā I need to get out of here and I need to be free.ā
ā
I am from ātough times donāt last and tough people do.ā
And count yourself lucky, ācause unlike some, you made it through.
I am from many families.
I am from Brandle, Wilson, Cooper, and Urbani.
The places Iāve found love, connection, and belonging are truly uncanny.
I am from bloodlines and names Iāll never take.
Friendships, loves, and mentors Iāll never forsake.
I am from a degree changes everything and you are what you achieve.
Fueling my B.S., cum laude, M.Ed. and one day Iāll be a doctor I believe.
ā
I am from Keurig Coffee, iPhone, and iMac.
Just keep going, get through it all, thereās no time to look back.
ā
I am from independence, achievement, and persistence.
Masking the impatience, distrust, and āyou better keep your distance.ā
I am from desire for competence and a sense of authenticity.
Which has me thinking what does it mean to be me and live life with vulnerability.
