Writing leads to the future, heals the past

November 18, 2001 - San Jose Mercury News Sunday

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(Mercury News)

THE WISH: HELP WITH COLLEGE TUITION,
WARDROBE, .TRANSPORTATION, COMPUTER

I just want to "give to somebody what I missed. “What Marquita Whitsett, 18, missed was a childhood in a caring household. To the best of her knowledge, her mother gave her away as "collateral for drugs" before she was 7. Foster homes and a volatile stay with her father and stepmother didn't work out.

Marquita now lives at a transitional home in San Jose run by Unity Care Group, which helps disadvantaged young people. As she prepares to graduate from high school and start college, Marquita is recreating from memory two children's books she wrote as a youngster. They involve Halloween and Christmas and were inspired by what "I wished my life would be.”

Besides wanting to pursue writing, Marquita is interested in working with children, perhaps in the social service field. She goes to church six days a week and says she eventually would like to be a foster or adoptive parent.

In the near term, Marquita needs a new wardrobe ($500) (18A) because of changes in her size after a recent operation, as well as transportation and supplies to continue her education at Evergreen Valley College.

She would love help with upcoming college tuition ($11 a unit) (J8B), books and fees ($500) (18C), and a year's bus pass ($429) (18D). A sturdy bike ($350) (18:8) and a helmet ($35) (18F) would solve other transportation problems. A computer and Internet access ($1,200) (18G)and a printer ($100) (J8H) will not only help her with schoolwork, they'll enable her to follow her dream of being a writer.