Nobody Wants the Teenagers. That's Exactly Why I Do.

I specifically asked for teenagers. My agency was surprised — most families want young children, which is understandable. But I grew up rough myself, and I know what it's like to be 15 and feel like nobody wants you.

Teens in foster care get the short end of every stick. They're the hardest to place, the most likely to bounce between group homes, and the most likely to age out of the system at 18 with no family and no safety net. About 20,000 kids age out every year with nowhere to go.

My first teen was a 16-year-old girl who'd been in seven placements. Seven. By the time she got to me, she expected to be kicked out again. She tested every boundary I had.

I didn't kick her out.

It took months to build trust. There were shouting matches and slammed doors and nights where I sat in my car in the driveway and took deep breaths. But there was also the first time she asked me to help with homework. The first time she introduced me as her foster mom without rolling her eyes. The day she graduated high school.

She's 20 now, in community college, and we talk every week. She's not my biological daughter, but she's my family.

If you're thinking about fostering and have the bandwidth for big emotions and hard conversations — consider a teenager. They need you more than anyone, and they'll change your life if you let them.