For an older teen at the orphanage, graduation looms: yet another change, another transition. What little childhood he had is gone. He can’t envision a positive future for himself, because he has so few positive memories of himself, and there may not be any adult in his life who can help him see differently. He may cling more closely to his peers, the only steady family he has. She may move from one unhealthy relationship to another. He may deaden the unknown future and the painful past with drugs, alcohol, sex – anything to forget. She may have had two or three abortions by the time she graduates. He may toughen up, she may shut down.
Those who have studied hard may have a chance to do well after graduation, but others have given up long ago, or have just gotten by. One boy who had changed orphanages partway through his schooling was graduated even though he couldn’t read or write at all.
In the months leading up to graduation, kids worry about what will happen to them at trade school. At Orphanage #4, the director makes sure each graduate is accepted into a trade school, but the students may enter a trade they can’t use. After graduation from the orphanage, they will be alone; they’ll lose contact with their peers – their only real support system – and anything familiar. Most have no idea how to handle even the independence of the government-managed trade schools. How will they survive?
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