Brief Autobiography

I said earlier I would try to post why I wanted to be a volunteer Guardian ad Litem. I feel I was called to do this. This will probably be pretty long. This is what I turned in as my auto biography at the Guardian ad Litem office.

My name is Teresa Smith, and I'm a Stay-at-Home Mom to my very wonderful daughter, ___. I was married six years ago to my childhood sweetheart____. Due to medical reasons I had to stop my work of eight years as a Pharmacy Technician.
I had a pretty tough childhood. My Mother and Father were divorced before I was a year old. My Mother often worked two jobs to support my brother and myself. We were often criticized, or shunned because of my Father. Even though we had nothing to do with the wrong decisions he made.
So that brings me around to why I want to be a volunteer Guardian ad Litem. I want to help children who are in horrible situations, and who have lost hope. I want them to know that someone still cares about them and is willing to go to bat for them, and to fight for their best interest. I had my Mom and my childhood sweetheart, (now my husband) help me pull through the tough spots. I was lucky, some or most of these kids have no one. I want to be someone for them.
For the last couple of years that I have been out of work. I have been thinking now what am I suppose to do. I started volunteering at church, and still felt it wasn't enough. I knew I wanted to do something to help children because of my childhood. So I decided to look online to see what volunteers were needed in the community. That's when I came across an ad on a volunteer website that said, volunteer Guardian ad litems needed, free training. I read more about the program and decided that this was something I really wanted to do.
It was the weekend so I couldn't call until Monday. I called Monday and found out that they were starting the classes that afternoon. So that afternoon I start off for the class. Unfortunately I am horrible at directions, and had problems finding where I needed to go. I had to ask several different people for directions. I had even spoken several times with a very nice and understanding lady from the Guardian ad Litem office who was helping instruct the class. At this point I was already thirty minutes late and ready to give up. I didn't want to hold the class up any later. I was thinking is this what I'm really meant to do? When out walks this lady with her baby asking if I was looking for the shelter. I had been driving around in the same area for a while, and she had heard I was looking for the shelter where the classes where being held. I think I will always remember her as my messenger. She will never know how much she helped me that day, just by being nice and giving directions. I was ready to give up hope, then she appeared and guided the way for me to make it to the training.
That's what I want to be for these kids, just a little bit of hope. Someone to help guide their way in such a hectic time. I know it's going to be tough, and I will probably make mistakes. I only hope I will learn from those mistakes.
I will try my absolute best to make sure the children I'm a guardian to are safe and protected. The greatest reward for me will be to see them happy, or become happy in whatever situation they find themselves in.