As a homeless kid, a single birthday gift\u2014a crumpled dollar bill\u2014transformed my life. I was taken in by foster parents Steve and Linda, who had eight other Black foster kids. They treated us like their own, and Steve always made me feel special. He\u2019d say, \u201cDylan, you\u2019re just as good as anyone else.\u201d\n\n\n\n
On my fifth birthday, my biological parents took me away, and Steve handed me a dollar bill, saying, \u201cThere\u2019s a special message for you written on this bill. Never lose it.\u201d Two years later, my biological parents abandoned me in a park.\n\n\n\n
At seven, alone and scared, I promised myself, \u201cNo more orphanages. You\u2019re going to make it on your own.\u201d I lived on the streets, learning to read and write from a homeless man named Jacob. He\u2019d say, \u201cDylan, you\u2019ve got to learn this. It\u2019s your way out of here.\u201d\n\n\n\n
Years later, I found the dollar bill again and read Steve\u2019s message: \u201cYou are my son and always will be\u2026 With it, you will succeed, but you have to believe in yourself!\u201d This reignited my spark.\n\n\n\n
I worked tirelessly until an elderly man, Mr. Brown, offered me a job. His mentorship led me to success, and I returned to my foster parents, showing Steve the dollar bill. He smiled and said, \u201cMaybe it\u2019s not the dollar but you?\u201d Through resilience and belief, I made it\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"