At iUniversity Prep, there are a large number of students from all walks of life who, even for different reasons, all go to this school and share that as common ground. With so many students having different life experiences, it can serve as a great opportunity for others to know more about their peers’ lives, ultimately revealing more about the world that they live in and the lives they each lead. One student in particular, Destiney Rincon, a 10th-grader and a first-year student at iUniversity Prep, wanted to share her experience of being adopted out of the foster care system and how her time as a student at iUP has helped her out.
Destiney’s story all started on her second birthday, when she was taken away from her parents by the government. Regarding the experience, she stated how she remembers “kicking, screaming, crying, and trying to escape the arms of a stranger”. Furthermore, Destiney described how they “put me in a small car and took me to a place that was unfamiliar”. A year later, she was put into a foster home, saying that she was “so happy to see a comfortable bed”. When Destiney was told by her foster parents to give them her stuff, she recalls how “their bright smiles instantly turned into a sorrowful face”. After trials and tribulations, at the age of 4 years old, Destiney was finally adopted.
After everything that Destiney had gone through, including her experience being a part of the foster care system along with being bullied, she was diagnosed with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more. “All of these issues still affect me now,” Destiney stated. “I have to take medicine, I get nightmares almost every night, and was diagnosed with insomnia when I was 13”. As Destiney put it herself, it wasn’t easy for her to face all these challenges growing up, even if they were in the past. “Even though this happened years ago I’m still struggling with all the trauma I had to go through,” Destiney said.
Being at iUP has made a clear difference for Destiney. When asked about her experience at iUP so far, she said, “I think being here at iUP definitely helps with my mental health in many ways. There is no bullying whatsoever and everyone is super nice and supportive.” However, being a first-year student at iUP naturally comes with its own challenges, such as getting used to the workload and working in a virtual environment. “The only thing is I am not used to so much work,” Destiney admitted. She explained how at her previous school, she “never got this much work,” along with noting that she “never had to teach myself like I do here.” Despite being more of a hands-on learner, Destiney is still “definitely proud of the decision to try online” because it helped her better understand her own strengths when it comes to learning.
When asked to give advice for people that have experienced similar situations to her own, Destiney told me that her advice is “to not care what people think because once you get older, you will see that caring what others think is just a waste of time; they’re just insecure so all the things they’re saying to you is them just throwing their problems at you.” In addition, when asked about what advice she’d give to anyone that’s struggling in general and needs help, Destiney suggested “to find either someone or a group of people that can understand from experience to talk to”.
No matter how lonely it might feel when times are tough, you certainly aren’t alone. Being a part of a community of other people and learning about each other’s experiences can certainly help us not just to understand the people around us, but to help us understand ourselves better as well. Being a part of a school such as iUniversity Prep, where we can learn so much from the unique experiences of other Owls, is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted, because even if we’re all separated through the screens of our devices, it can make us feel more united.
