1. -WHO AM I-
BY CHRISTINESTEVENS-CULBREATH
My name isChristine Stevens,mostpeople refertome bymy nickname Tina. I currentlylive in
WinchesterVA,and have livedhere forabout7 years.Iwas born inAlexandriaVA,growingupasa kid
was tough. NotonlydidI have strugglesof beinga bi-racial child,butwe livedonSection8Housing
assistance (nota verygoodneighborhood).Iwasraisedbymysingle mother;doingherbesttoraise
three younggirls. My fatherpassedawayfroma drugoverdose whenIwassevenyearsold,andmy
motherturnedto alcohol toself-medicate.Byage 8, I foundmyself helpingmymothercare for mytwo
youngersiblings. Astime passed by, IattendedT.C.WilliamsHighSchool, andthingswere eventougher
for me.Each morningby6 am, momwouldbe off to workat a local hospital.ThismeantthatI would
have to make sure that I got myself andtwosistersreadyforschool,and out of the door for the school
bus, by 8 am.It was a great deal of responsibilityonmyshoulders,atsucha youngage,but I had to do
these thingstokeepmyfamilytogether.Ididn’twantChildServicestosuspectanything, soIhad no
otheroption. Ihad to be sure thatwe were notbe late, or missschool overthe years,andto keepmy
sisterssafe,andfill inwhenmymotherwasinhibited.
I metmy nowhusbandwhenIwas about15 yearsold.He attendedWestPotomacHighschool,in
Alexandria,VA (FairfaxCounty).Mylife turnedaroundforthe bestwhenmymother’sjobrelocatedto
RestonVA.Thingswere lookingup!Newplace tolive,greatneighborhood,slowerpace of life,andby
thistime mymom had cleanedupheract and stoppeddrinking.Before relocating,IfoundoutthatI was
pregnant.We exploredouroptions,anddecided thatevenwithourhardshipsuptothispoint;I would
continue the pregnancy.Isecured ajob at GiantFood Store chain(whichiswhere I am still employed
afterabout 26 years).Byday,I workedhard to graduate, at the BryantCenterwhichisan alternative
school forteen moms;and workedpart-time about20 hoursper weekduringthe night.Myhusband
and I wouldswitchshifts,andmymomalsohelpedwithdaycare atnight.While onmaternity leave, I
continuedvigorouslytostayontasks withmyassignments.Ultimately,Ireturnedtoschool,andearned
my diplomafromSouthLakesHighSchool inReston,VA.
My husbandand I are both graduates,andby age 19, we were the proudparents;raisingtwoboys,and
one girl,(a childfromRodney’spreviousrelationship).Ihadalwayswantedmore for mychildren,sowe
bothvowedto staytogetherandraise our children;inatwo parenthome.Graduatingfromhighschool
was a challenge becauseIwasa teenmomat that time.Ididn’twantto be the stereotype of ateen
mom,not graduatedandrelyingonfinancial assistance toraise herchildren.No,Iwantedbetter;I
workedhardto graduate and continuedontotocollege, tofurthermyeducationfora betterfuture for
our children.
While incollege,myhusbandandIwere notifiedof afamilycrisisandwhere toldthatwe wouldhave
to stepin,and adoptmy sister’stwochildren(aniece andtwonephews).If we declined,the children
wouldbe splitupand adoptedbytwoseparate families;thatwere alreadyapprovedasadoptive parent.
At thistime herchildrenwere about4months, 4 yearsold,andfive years old.Ourthree childrenthat
we were raisinginourhousehold atthat time were just5,7, and 8 yearsold.Remember, Iwasalready
jugglingparentingthreechildren,attendingschool,and workingatthe GiantFood Store chain.The
adoptionagencyadvisedme thatIwouldhave to quitgoingto school inorderto have time to focuson
raisingthe siblinggroup.They alsoadvisedme thatIwouldn’tbe consideredasaqualifyingadoptive

2. candidate otherwise.Initially,we were approvedasfosterparents(forfouryears).We hada rigorous
adoptionprocess,lotsof prying, parentingclasses, therapy, etc.We jumpedthroughmanyhoops,and
finallyfouryearslaterthe adoptionwasfinalized (ittooklongerthanaverage adoptionprocesses
because theywantedtomake sure that we wouldbe able tohandle itall).Combinedwithourbirthkids;
it totaled6 childrenthatwe were raisingatthe age of about 25 yearsoldfor me,and27 yearsoldfor
my husband.Although,Restonhadbecome sodeveloped,andaveryexpensive countytoraise our
familyin;legally,we hadlive inFairfax Countyuntil the adoptionwasfinalized.Whenthe adoptionwas
finalizedwe purchasedasingle familyhome withahuge backyard andlots more space for everyone.
Economicallyitwasgreat,but itwas a culture shockfor the kids.Lookingback,we know that we made
the bestdecision.
Today,five of our six childrenhave graduated;some incollege,mostworking.The youngestwhichwas4
monthsoldat the time,isnow 13, and inmiddle school. Ithas alwaysbeenimportantforme that the
kidsgraduate,andalongthe way,I remindedthem of myhardpath of graduation.Alwaysexpressingto
them, that theyhadNO excusesforfailure otherthanthattheydidn’ttry!We gave themthe toolsto
succeed,andall of the supporttheyneeded!We constantlysharedwiththemwhatmypathto
graduationlookedlike!Iexpectedmore fromthem, especiallybecauseIwasable to reach my goal of
graduationas an at riskteenmom,growingupin a bad environment,inasingle parenthome,helpingto
raise twosiblings,working at15 yearsold,and goingto school,andstill graduate:all atthe same time.I
pride myself onthe accomplishmentsthatIhave made inmy life inordertomake a betterfuture formy
children,andfamily.
Thisroad has notalwaysbeeneasy,andI have scarifiedalot;but itwas all worthit.I beat the odds
againstme. One thingthat can admitis that I alwaystriedmybest,made mistakesalongthe way;butI
nevergave up! My childrenare healthyproductive citizensof society,andIcan say that I hada direct
influencein moldingeachone of them! Eventually,Iwasable returnbackto college once the kidswere
older;butthree yearsago, I wasdiagnosedwithStage 3Breast Cancer.Once again I hadto put my
degree onhold.Atleastfornow….Nomore school at thistime.Ihave beenpresentedwithabigger
purpose inlife.Myattentionhas nowbeenconcentratedinanotherdirection. Thatdirectionistohelp
moldand positivelyinfluence delicate impressionable youth,andcommunities.Mylife isfulfilledwith
my role as the Founderof I’MJUST ME MOVEMENT, and inspiringnotonlythe mindsof youngpeople,
but people asa whole.My passionisencouraging,andreachingothers,throughthe missionof my
organization.