{"id":3107,"date":"2019-06-13T17:19:42","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T16:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/?p=3107"},"modified":"2023-02-14T12:48:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T12:48:07","slug":"im-worth-so-much-more-than-i-believed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/career-experiences\/im-worth-so-much-more-than-i-believed\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m worth so much more than I believed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

This poem was written by a teen in care. It won a runner-up prize in our \u2018Write Speak Share\u2019 writing competition<\/a>. The theme for the competition was \u2018Your Biggest Achievement\u2019. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the car drove away, I cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They said it wouldn\u2019t be for long, but they lied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years on the first of July I\u2019ve been away from Mum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years on the first of July I\u2019ve been left feeling numb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two brothers and two sisters snatched from my life;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am endlessly trapped in self-strife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is there left for me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who am I meant to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will the future bring?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot dance, and I cannot sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How am I going to succeed at school with all these thoughts in my head?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow am I going to be able to carry on?\u201d, I asked myself as my heart bled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isolation, exclusion, and warnings is what school entailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I carried around the constant fear that I had failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are great!\u201d \u201cYou have potential!\u201d, the teachers exclaimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was a troubled and vulnerable child who could not be tamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tragedies of two friends;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One from a heart attack and one drowned in the river Thames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both 16 with hearts of gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both 16 but deserved to grow old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many questions I want to ask:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like, why was I chosen to experience my past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many more traumas are there to come?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will I ever be able to stop feeling numb?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I gave up and buried my head in my hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, I began pulling my hair out, strand by strand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fog engulfed my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is some sort of God, why are they not being kind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on my life opens my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Positivity and happiness begin to rise,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Willpower and drive start to slowly breeze in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I understand that everything happens for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was chosen a life that would make me stronger<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if that meant I was with my family for no longer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independence, self-awareness and stability is what I have gained<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong is what I needed to be and in that I have been trained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realisation of my potential became clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not a failure and I have no fear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From what I thought was a \u2018bad start\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has now become a beautiful work of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am worth so much more than what I believed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-awareness allowed me to witness what I have achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The constant battle in my head I have now overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resilience and self-control are what I can claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academically, I may not be the best<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I would pass if common sense was a test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saying that I did quite well as you will see<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of eight subject exams, I achieved six GCSEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite my weight and fear of the unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I completed DofE<\/a> without a single moan,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trekking through endless fields as the rain poured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have also achieved my Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poetry is a huge passion of mine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used it to make me feel somewhat fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two competitions I entered at school<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Made me achieve two poems published, which is pretty cool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambition and determination are what drives me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as my family and not knowing what I could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime minister? Lawyer? Or a checkout lady?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, my future is no longer hazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy chair of my children in care council<\/a> and an ambassador for ANV<\/a>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A member of the Voice of Oxfordshire Youth and it doesn\u2019t stop at those three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviewing for new social workers and IROs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am an apprentice on The House project which encourages others to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back on the past few years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been many smiles and many tears,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So much worry and self-blame<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, my biggest achievement <\/strong>is that I have won the game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This poem was written by a teen in care. It won a runner-up prize in our \u2018Write Speak Share\u2019 writing competition. The theme for the competition was \u2018Your Biggest Achievement\u2019.  As the car drove away, I cried. They said it wouldn\u2019t be for long, but they lied. Five years on the first of July I\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,25],"tags":[21,38,19,24,23,6],"class_list":["post-3107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-experiences","category-your-stories","tag-being-in-care","tag-care-leaver","tag-foster-care","tag-getting-a-job","tag-real-life-stories","tag-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"I'm worth so much more than I believed - IMO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/career-experiences\/im-worth-so-much-more-than-i-believed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I'm worth so much more than I believed - IMO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This poem was written by a teen in care. 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