Naomi, 16 years old, VA | 7 DAYS WAITING

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Naomi argues like she is already a lawyer. Ask her opinion on anything from curfews to cafeteria rules, and she will lay out her case with a calm voice, three clear reasons, and a smile that says she is prepared for your rebuttal. She learned to speak up because she had to. After being placed in foster care, Naomi sat in court hearings where adults who barely knew her made decisions about her life, and she decided that no young person should sit in that room without someone fighting for them. She joined her school’s debate team and started keeping a folder of her own records. She always knows the date of her next appointment and the name of everyone who is supposed to support her. Beneath her confidence is a girl who has moved more times than she should have, and who quietly wishes for a little more softness. Naomi is determined to become a family law attorney and child advocate so other young people in foster care have a voice that cannot be ignored. She is sharp, loyal, and funny, with a heart bigger than she lets on. She has spent years learning to stand up for herself, and she is ready to stand up for others too.

After a long day of school, practice, and standing up for herself, Naomi wants her bed to feel like a calm, clean, quiet place to land. A soft white blanket would give her a fresh, peaceful touch, making her room feel more like a sanctuary and a little of the softness she's quietly wished for. White is the color of new beginnings, and for a girl who has had so many fresh starts she didn’t choose, it would be one she gets to choose for herself.