As a homeless kid, a single birthday gift—a crumpled dollar bill—transformed my life. I was taken in by foster parents Steve and Linda, who had eight other Black foster kids. They treated us like their own, and Steve always made me feel special. He’d say, “Dylan, you’re just as good as anyone else.”

On my fifth birthday, my biological parents took me away, and Steve handed me a dollar bill, saying, “There’s a special message for you written on this bill. Never lose it.” Two years later, my biological parents abandoned me in a park.

At seven, alone and scared, I promised myself, “No more orphanages. You’re going to make it on your own.” I lived on the streets, learning to read and write from a homeless man named Jacob. He’d say, “Dylan, you’ve got to learn this. It’s your way out of here.”

Years later, I found the dollar bill again and read Steve’s message: “You are my son and always will be… With it, you will succeed, but you have to believe in yourself!” This reignited my spark.

I worked tirelessly until an elderly man, Mr. Brown, offered me a job. His mentorship led me to success, and I returned to my foster parents, showing Steve the dollar bill. He smiled and said, “Maybe it’s not the dollar but you?” Through resilience and belief, I made it.