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Renting family: College student posts heartbreaking want ad on Craigslist for 20th birthday

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Natalie Carson has never had a family to celebrate with; she's changing that this year.

Forced to grow up in foster care, after being abuse by her parents, 19-year-old Natalie Carson now has one wish for her 20th birthday -- a family to celebrate with. The college student has posted an ad on Craigslist in search of a willing family to celebrate with her, something she explained she didn't have while growing up. Carson is not asking for any financial support and revealed she was already talking to a family, who has taken interest in her plea.

Highlights

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - "I usually just try to sleep through my birthday and holidays too. I just think, 'Go rest and it'll be over in the morning and you won't have to think about it again until next year,'" she said, describing the struggles she faces every June 10.

There was one instance, as she recalls, where she was forced by her foster family to throw away the doll she received as a gift. The foster family who first took her in became so abusive she was forced to go back in foster care from her new home in Georgia.


After becoming old enough to leave the foster care system, Carson took a bus from Georgia to Colorado. Now turning 20, Carson wants so bad to have a different birthday that she is willing to pay for a family at $8 per hour.  

"I felt like having one day where it's OK -- this is about me and it's my birthday. I don't have this big elaborate plan or anything, I just wanted it to be good," she said, according to the Daily Mail.

Following her heartbreaking story and advertisement on Craigslist, an estimate of a thousand responses were made, according to Carson. There were even some from foreign countries, like Australia and Canada.

"It felt good I was happy, and I've been talking to one family in particular."

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Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

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