Monica, 19 years old, NJ | 4 DAYS WAITING |

Wish submitted by:

CASA of Passaic and Union Counties (NJ)

Monica first entered the foster care system at the age of six, and she believed she had found her forever home when she was adopted a few years later. Unfortunately, she suffered further abuse and trauma at the hands of her adoptive parent, leading to her return to the foster care system as a teenager. Over the years, Monica has moved between various homes, living in more than a dozen different foster placements. Despite these challenges, she demonstrates remarkable resilience and possesses a warm, loving nature. Monica expresses her feelings through art and has kept many of her creations throughout her time in and out of the system. She also loves to cook and has developed her skills by watching online cooking videos, often preparing meals for others in the foster homes she has lived in. Now an adult, Monica finds herself on her own, without any family connections, and is trying to create a sense of home in her very first apartment. She experiences a mix of excitement about her newfound independence and loneliness from her lack of permanent relationships.

When she was 13 years old, Monica's foster parent at the time took her for piano lessons, and Monica received a small, portable piano keyboard so that she could practice. Five years later, still in the foster care system but many homes later, Monica is still expressing her feelings through music and art. The sound system on her old piano keyboard is not working well anymore, and Monica is hoping for a new keyboard for Christmas.