Ari

My name's Ari and I was adopted by my uncle's ex-wife because at the time when I was born, my mother was incarcerated and my father was strung out.

This led to a lot of abuse, but ultimately at four on Mother's Day, my uncle's ex-wife... For this, we're just going to call her mom.

I've always called her mom and my biological mom, I've always referred to her by name as Victoria.

So when I first came into the home, I had a lot of trauma.

I had a lot of abandonment issues, a lot of starving issues.

I had problems with eating due to being homeless when I was a kid.

So there was a lot of things she had to deal with, but her biggest thing in life was image.

So I came in already ruining that image and I came in already stunting what she had going on.

She had two kids with me coming in and a baby on the way.

My eldest brother did not live in the home and I never knew him living in the home, but he always existed.

He was always around because he lived with my godmom, but he just did not live with us.

He was like a weekend sibling, if anything.

No.

So when I was born, they were in the process of getting a divorce.

But she had his daughter.

And that was his only kid.

So she had her on the weekends.

And so my mother would come and visit and see me just in different homes or not eating or not having a lot.

And on the weekends that she would come pick her up, she'd bring me things, you know, different clothes, a meal, things like that.

So I saw her as almost a mother figure.