‘”I’m 19. I am kind, shy, and hardworking.
My favorite color is purple. I know people are very surprised, but I do not have a favorite food. I love listening to music—“Saccharine” by VIOLENT VERA is one of my favorites. She’s punk rock, and I love her vocals and the way she presents herself. I love animals, too. My favorite animal is an owl. I just think they look so cute and elegant, especially white owls.
I just got my driver’s license. It felt great, actually. I got something out of the way, finally. I can actually drive without being told what to do now. It’s fun!
When I was younger, I was very outgoing. But when I got older, I would be inside more and I didn’t like socializing with people that much. Especially, like, with all my friends that I have now—I wasn’t the one that was going to the kids in my neighborhood first. I didn’t even want to go outside and approach them. Two, three years ago, when my mom first saw one of my friends outside walking her dog, she wanted me to make a friend. I think it took me, like, two or three days to even go outside and talk to her. It makes my heart feel very happy that I can actually socialize with more people now and not be nervous or just hide behind somebody.
I feel like I’m more talkative now than I used to be. I still can’t hold eye contact, but my hair or my eyes make me feel confident. Last month, I would say I surprised myself with how far I’ve come. I didn’t know where I was going at the moment, but I finally got into the CNA classes I wanted to get into. So I’m just like, ‘Dang, this is a long way from where I started—and now I’m here.’
Well, I did graduate from high school, and that was a very big thing for me. And I started working at Sonic. Now I’m making income because I was unemployed for a year, and I didn’t like that. But it’s actually really fun for me because I get to meet a lot of new people in my age range and also over my age range. I just make a lot of connections with a lot of people.
One of my big things is I want a house. Most of my family has had only apartments, and my mom is the only person that actually has a house. So, I want a house.
Becoming a nurse is really big for me. I just like to take care of people—especially old people. I love old people. I feel like everybody just needs to be listened to sometimes. They probably need somebody to talk to. So I like talking to people. People are super nice to talk to because they can just tell you about all their life stories. And I’m a good listener.
I’ve always wanted to be a nurse. Well, firstly, I wanted to be a doctor, then slowly changed into a nurse over the years. I’m going to take classes for my CNA. I’m starting in September. It’s like a nine-week program. So I would do about five weeks online or four weeks online and then the rest of the five weeks in person so that I can get hands-on experience. I’m looking forward to that.
My mom—well, my great grandmother, I call her my mom—is one of the people I look up to. She basically got me here where I am today, honestly. I feel most like myself around my family or people I’m just close with, honestly.
Actually, my younger sister introduced me to the Policy Center. She had Brandy first, and then I ended up getting to know Brandy. I was like, I would like to join. She’s three years younger than me. We’re very close. We grew up together—a lot.
There were a lot of things happening at that time. My sister had ended up getting kicked out at that point, and then she ended up going to Pace and came back to the house in December. Brandy would come over to her house, and most of the time I would be downstairs when they were talking. My sister would talk to me about how she felt about it. I thought it was interesting, and I wanted to be a part of that too. I think it was after that I joined the Policy Center.
I’m just overcoming my social anxiety, pretty much. Brandy is taking me out to a lot of different places and stuff like that, encouraging me to do stuff.
I would tell girls that the Policy Center is worth it. Take that chance. It’s a great way to explore different opportunities. I just feel very welcomed here.”
—Gabby
