Julie and Taya's Story
A Rocky Start
Taya, now 17, is open about the fact that she was not always easy to live with — especially when she first moved in with Julie at the age of 14.
“I was so angry,” she says. “Angry at my mum for not being able to care for me. Angry at my social worker for saying I had to leave home. Angry at my foster carer for not being my mum. But mostly I was angry at myself. I don’t even know why — I just blamed myself for everything.”
That anger showed itself in different ways. Taya kept her distance. She challenged boundaries. She avoided conversations. For Julie, those early months were difficult.
“Taya wouldn’t talk to me about anything,” Julie remembers. “I would try to check in with her, but she would just shut down. I now understand that trust takes time, but at the beginning I felt like I was getting it wrong. I questioned whether I was good enough for her.”
What changed was not one big breakthrough, but consistency. Julie kept routines steady. She stayed calm during arguments. She showed up for school meetings. She sat at the table at dinner time, even when Taya chose not to join in. Gradually, the atmosphere shifted.
“It wasn’t sudden,” Taya explains. “But I realised she wasn’t going anywhere. Even when I pushed her away, she stayed. That’s when I started to trust her.”
By the time Taya reached 16, things looked very different. She began engaging more at school. Conversations at home became easier. They still had disagreements — like any household — but there was mutual respect.
Julie reflects, “The biggest lesson for me was patience. You cannot rush trust. You just keep showing up.”
What a difference time makes
Taya now talks about college plans and her future with more confidence. She is clear that the journey was not simple, but she recognises the stability Julie provided during a critical stage of her life.
Their story is a reminder that fostering is rarely straightforward. It requires resilience, reflection and support. But with consistency and the right guidance around you, meaningful change is possible — sometimes in quiet, steady ways that only become clear with time.
