Three little words
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public
Ashley Rhodes-Courter endured years of abuse in the state's foster care system before being adopted into a nurturing home.
She described being starved and whipped in one Plant City foster home, and sued the state over the treatment she endured.
She decided to draw on those experiences when entering a national writing contest.
Her essay Three Little Words, describes the emotions swirling through her mind during her adoption hearing, which was videotaped by a family member.
It was one of 3,000 essays submitted to a New York Times Magazine writing and photography contest for high school students.
Last week, it was announced she had won the writing contest. The award comes with a $1,000 prize.
The three little words were: "I guess so," her noncommittal reply to the judge who asked if she wanted the adoption to become official.
The adoption wasn't a happy moment because she had seen others adopted, only to return when they became too disruptive for their parents to handle. She feared everything would change once the papers were signed.
"I just wanted to tell the truth," she said. "It wasn't easy to write, but it allowed me to express those thoughts in very real terms."
Her life up until the adoption hadn't been easy, either.
She was taken into state custody in 1989 at age 3 from a mother who abused drugs. Over the next decade she spent time in 13 foster homes, eventually winding up in Plant City at the home of Charles and Marjorie Moss, where, she said, she was mistreated.
"I was beaten with a paddle, denied food, forced to stand in awkward positions, swallow hot sauce and run laps in the blistering sun," she wrote in her essay.
The Mosses later were arrested after accusations of physically and emotionally abusing several of their foster children.
In June 2002, Ashley sued the state Department of Children and Families, saying officials there knowingly placed her in dangerous homes with adults who had a history of abuse and alcoholism.
She said DCF case workers also stopped scheduling semi-annual judicial reviews of her case and failed to visit her to see if she was okay.
The suit recently was settled, she said.
In praising her recent essay, the judges said the "powerful essay describes the moment that her torturous path through foster care ended and her life with her new family began."
"I was absolutely ecstatic," Ashley said about winning the contest. "It's one of the biggest honors and privileges of my life."
Ashley, 17, is a student at Crystal River High, where she takes dual-enrollment courses that also give her college credits. She'll be a senior at Crystal River High in the fall and later plans to attend the University of Central Florida.
Her life now, with her parents Philip Ray and Gay Courter, is filled with things many teens take for granted, such as phones, a well-stocked refrigerator, an after-school job and sleepovers with friends.
Her adoptive mother recalls the adoption hearing was an emotional day.
"I kissed her on the cheek and she wiped the spot with her hand, as if to rub it off," Courter said.
This isn't the first time Ashley has drawn upon her foster care experience to win an essay contest.
In October 2000, her essay about how the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone affected her life won her a trip to New York City to meet author J.K. Rowling and to appear on NBC's Today show.
"She's also a national-level public speaker on foster care and adoptions," Courter said. "She's spoken to Congress and been to the White House.
"That's one reason why she wants to go to the University of Central Florida, which is in Orlando, where they have lots of potential convention audiences for her speaking career."
She described being starved and whipped in one Plant City foster home, and sued the state over the treatment she endured.
She decided to draw on those experiences when entering a national writing contest.
Her essay Three Little Words, describes the emotions swirling through her mind during her adoption hearing, which was videotaped by a family member.
It was one of 3,000 essays submitted to a New York Times Magazine writing and photography contest for high school students.
Last week, it was announced she had won the writing contest. The award comes with a $1,000 prize.
The three little words were: "I guess so," her noncommittal reply to the judge who asked if she wanted the adoption to become official.
The adoption wasn't a happy moment because she had seen others adopted, only to return when they became too disruptive for their parents to handle. She feared everything would change once the papers were signed.
"I just wanted to tell the truth," she said. "It wasn't easy to write, but it allowed me to express those thoughts in very real terms."
Her life up until the adoption hadn't been easy, either.
She was taken into state custody in 1989 at age 3 from a mother who abused drugs. Over the next decade she spent time in 13 foster homes, eventually winding up in Plant City at the home of Charles and Marjorie Moss, where, she said, she was mistreated.
"I was beaten with a paddle, denied food, forced to stand in awkward positions, swallow hot sauce and run laps in the blistering sun," she wrote in her essay.
The Mosses later were arrested after accusations of physically and emotionally abusing several of their foster children.
In June 2002, Ashley sued the state Department of Children and Families, saying officials there knowingly placed her in dangerous homes with adults who had a history of abuse and alcoholism.
She said DCF case workers also stopped scheduling semi-annual judicial reviews of her case and failed to visit her to see if she was okay.
The suit recently was settled, she said.
In praising her recent essay, the judges said the "powerful essay describes the moment that her torturous path through foster care ended and her life with her new family began."
"I was absolutely ecstatic," Ashley said about winning the contest. "It's one of the biggest honors and privileges of my life."
Ashley, 17, is a student at Crystal River High, where she takes dual-enrollment courses that also give her college credits. She'll be a senior at Crystal River High in the fall and later plans to attend the University of Central Florida.
Her life now, with her parents Philip Ray and Gay Courter, is filled with things many teens take for granted, such as phones, a well-stocked refrigerator, an after-school job and sleepovers with friends.
Her adoptive mother recalls the adoption hearing was an emotional day.
"I kissed her on the cheek and she wiped the spot with her hand, as if to rub it off," Courter said.
This isn't the first time Ashley has drawn upon her foster care experience to win an essay contest.
In October 2000, her essay about how the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone affected her life won her a trip to New York City to meet author J.K. Rowling and to appear on NBC's Today show.
"She's also a national-level public speaker on foster care and adoptions," Courter said. "She's spoken to Congress and been to the White House.
"That's one reason why she wants to go to the University of Central Florida, which is in Orlando, where they have lots of potential convention audiences for her speaking career."
An excerpt from
'Three Little Words'
. . . It was July 28,1998, my adoption day. I had spent almost 10 of my 12 years in foster care; I was now living in my 14th placement. Some homes had lasted less than a week; few more than a year. So why would this one be any different? Before this placement, I had been in residential care (the politically correct name for an orphanage). Do you remember the movie The Cider House Rules, when the orphans try to smile in just the right way so they will be picked by the couple shopping for a child? While it wasn't supposed to be so obvious at the Children's Home of Tampa, prospective parents
did act as though they were looking at puppies in a pet shop. For more than two and a half years I watched the few lucky dogs pack up their belongings, wave goodbye and exit the gate. I also saw them return - even after being placed with a family - with their tails between their legs. People made promises about "forever families," but often something went wrong. I don't know what families expected. Nobody is perfect, and children who have already been rejected by their parents - or at least feel they've been - are hoping that someone will love them no matter how they behave. I had been living with my new family for eight months. Everything seemed to be going well, but would that change after the papers were signed? And just because it was "official," did it mean they would not send me back if I didn't live up to their expectations? . . .
2003 Jun 20