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personal essay
Tiffany Lynn LeBeau

September 3rd, 2013

Biographical Essay

I do not want to be a statistic. Today less than 3 percent of foster care children go to college. I was determined to beat the odds since the day I was born. I Tiffany Lynn LeBeau was born on May 28, 1996. I was born to my mother Wanda and to my father Joseph. I had two older siblings named Eric and Brandy. Sounds like the dream family right? We were far from perfect and a lot closer to a nightmare. My parents were drug addicts even before I was born. My mother preferred crack over any other drugs she could get her hands on. My father was an alcoholic and extremely abusive. I cant really remember much from my younger years but I still remember enough. As my parents slipped deeper into their own worlds of selfishness and addictions it became apparent that there was no turning back. My parents could not keep a stable job for more than 2 months at a time. We moved from house to house every year. I ended up living in 35 different houses by the age of 11. School wasn't my main priority but i still had this feeling of safety whenever i was there. School was my stability while my family swirled out of control. I remember the first time I was taken from my parents. Social Services was always involved in our lives but nothing had happened till I was 4. That day was unforgettable. My hand pressed against the cop cars window as I yell for my mother and father to help me. My knees shook from the terror I felt inside. My brother tried to comfort me but his soothing words and gentle hands but could not ease the pain I felt inside. We were then taken to a “new” home, where we stayed until our parents got “better”. The reason this memory always sticks out to me is because it happened over and over again. The only difference was that there were new places and new people each time. This continued for years and years. I would be beaten by my dad weekly, and yelled at by mother daily. At some point in time I guess

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