Wednesday’s Child: ‘I’ve just kind of been let down a lot’
May 23, 2018, 6:30 PM | Updated: 9:24 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – There’s something comforting about creating art.
“I’ve just been doing it forever and teaching myself stuff,” said 18-year-old Krysten, while using a pencil to sketch a still life at the University of Utah.
There’s something soothing about designing reality in just the way you want it when life’s had other plans.
“All I remember is being at a Boys and Girls Club,” Krysten said, thinking back on the day she first entered state custody. “I just remember cop cars. That’s all I really remember.”
For her, life’s drawn a path she would never have chosen.
“I’ve been in the system since I was three,” Krysten said. “I have not been adopted, but I’ve been with a lot of families.”
Bouncing from house to house, with life as impermanent as lines on a piece of paper — it’s enough to make someone put down their pencil and give up.
“Throughout my life, I’ve just kind of been let down a lot,” Krysten said. “I just want parents that I know I can go to.”
She’s even questioned whether or not she needs a family at all.
“I am 18, I should just move on, get my own place, start my own family,” Krysten said.
But deep down she knows, everyone needs a helping hand to help them draw their future.
“I guess I just want to be officially part of a family that I know will support me,” Krysten said. “I feel like everyone deserves a family.”
Everyone deserves a family — especially those who are used to sketching life all on their own.
“I feel that no matter what age you are, you still deserve a family,” Krysten said.