06.30.2022

My Story: Strength from Tension & Integrity

By David

Woodworking is an outlet for me, a way for me to express my feelings through something tangible. Each piece contains all the effort and emotions I put into it while creating it.

I first learned about woodworking from my grandpa who worked in construction. He taught me everything he knew — how to make picture frames and how to be safe in using tools and not cut part of my finger off, like he had. Watching him work and not give up even after losing a leg taught me important life skills.

I moved in my grandpa when I was seven. Before that, life was rough. My mom used drugs heavily, and there were many days and nights when I wasn’t sure if my younger brother Danny and I would have food to eat or a place to sleep. Eventually, I was separated from my brother and went to live with my grandpa, while Danny stayed with my mom.

When I was 12, Danny and I went to live with Nancy and Kerry. They were foster parents who were there to support us, and we didn’t have to worry about not having food to eat or a house to live in. It became home for us, not just a foster home. They helped Danny and me change from being rowdy kids to young men.

While we were in foster care, the system wanted to have us adopted so we eventually had to move out. A week before my freshman year in high school, they helped us transition into the home of Adam and Tiffany. Tiffany also became my teacher at school — she teaches the Intro to Marketing class to freshman. She and Adam taught us how to be responsible and accountable while having privileges, like a cell phone.

During sophomore year, I got into woodshop class and was able to show my grandpa my projects. I like to make anything I can see a use for, such as Adirondack chairs and a wood-framed mirror. I took woodshop classes throughout high school, and by the time I was a senior, I was also teaching classes.

Here is one of my current projects — this is a table that I have been working on for more than six months. It is called Tensegrity, based on the idea of tensional integrity to create a floating structure. The table doesn’t have any legs but is instead suspended and held together by vertical cables.

For the table top, I created an intricate black design using electricity. I took apart a microwave and wired its transformer to an extension cord, touching the positive and negative ends of the wires to nails in the wood. I then used water and baking soda to direct the electricity that burns it.

I am proud of this table, and my goal is to enter it into a woodworking competition in Las Vegas this summer. If accepted, my table will be judged by professionals in the industry.

My grandpa passed away about two years ago. Tiffany and Adam have done a lot to help and support me during that time. As an 18-year-old, I see the big picture now of all that has happened in my life. When I was first put in foster care, I thought it sucked because I was taken away from my mom. But my perspective changed six months later when my mom failed her drug test. We had packed up all our stuff, waiting for her to pick us up. That’s when I realized foster care was my best option. If my mom couldn’t even pass a drug test, I knew she couldn’t take care of us.

The way I see it — if I hadn’t been in foster care, I probably would have ended up dealing drugs, under a bridge somewhere and dropped out of high school. I was lucky in that I’ve only had two foster families and was able to be with my brother.

Danny and I are the last ones in our family left alive, so there’s a lot of pressure on us to be successful. I know that pressure is coming from ourselves, but in my mind, if we don’t do something with our lives and give our future kids a second chance, then we’ll have failed all the opportunities that Treehouse and foster care has given us. Treehouse provided me with individual support and the ability to talk to someone once a week in high school who would check on my goals. And they paid for expenses related to my education and activities during these last four years, including fees and trips so I could travel to Seattle and Tennessee for school-related competitions. Treehouse also paid for soccer equipment, summer camp, yearbooks, a laptop, school fees and my graduation cap and gown.

I am excited to graduate from high school and be able to work full-time. What I want people to know is that no matter where you come from or where you start, you can always make your future successful. The worst upbringing can bring out the best future. Even if you’re in a bad spot now, you can still make your future good. And your decisions affect your future, so pay attention to that.

I owe a lot to my grandpa. I try to do better for him. He is my inspiration, and I hope one day, I can be as good as — or maybe even better — of a woodworker than he was.

Learn more about David and what graduating from high school means to him.

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