MY FOSTER CARE TEACHER BELIEVED I COULD BECOME A DOCTOR—YEARS LATER, SHE HANDED ME SOMETHING THAT BROKE ME COMPLETELY

and parents who planned for their futures. I was only focused on surviving until eighteen. Then my biology teacher, Mrs. Langston, noticed me. One afternoon, as I headed for the door, she quietly asked, “Have you ever thought about medicine?” I laughed immediately. “People like me don’t become doctors,” I told her. But instead of arguing, she simply continue reading …