What’s up everyone? My name is Amal Kharoufi (Pronouns She/They). I am a spicy disaster with a very respectful blunt personality. I have used my foster care experience not only to inspire and educate but to also takeaction in a way that isn’t whitewashed or sugar-coated because we deserve more than that. I believe success is much more than simply graduating from high school. I believe success is being able to sleep at night without worrying about homelessness or not being forced into a closet due to society’s incapability of acceptance.
I’ve had to put my own happiness aside just so that I wouldn’t starve that night, and had to keep my mouth shut in order to keep the current roof over my head because no one wanted to take in the teenage foster girl because apparently, my age meant I was a drug addict delinquent. I understand first-hand the struggles of navigating through the molasses of a system alone with no assistance. This is why I continue to advocate, but what is advocacy? When I think of the word advocacy, I think of the word jealousy—being jealous of others and their accomplishments. Accomplishments that came easily to them. Accomplishments that I had to fight tooth and nail to achieve. I believe advocacy is understanding the unfairness of the world and to keep fighting despite the obstacles laid in front of you.
We live in an unfair world and that’s not going to change. The only thing that can change is how I choose to live in said world. Fine, the world is unfair. Then I will reshape that world to fit my needs, to fit the needs of others like me. Even if that means I have to dismantle systems and break the damn wheel. I will make sure that the world that I live in, the world that I choose to live in, is fair enough for me!