Nicola from European Union

Nicola was born in January 2008 and aside from possible gastritis, is healthy and developing well. She is a friendly, obedient, and helpful teen. Her foster family is very pleased with her, and Nicola feels comfortable with them. After the death of her father, Nicola’s mother remarried and had additional children. Nicola was treated poorly in the home, experienced physical abuse and neglect, and was consequently removed from the family in 2019. She and her older brother (who is not eligible for adoption) have been able to maintain contact although they do not live near one another. They love each other and hope to be reunited. Nicola has some anxiety related to the losses and rejection she has endured. She continues to grieve and, from time to time, becomes depressed. Nicola does not believe that she can confide in anyone about her feelings and keeps a lot of emotions locked inside of herself. She is a sensitive teen who recognizes feelings in others, is well-oriented in human relationships, and treats people with respect. Despite describing herself as an introvert who likes to be alone, Nicola enjoys communicating with others and has established solid connections with girlfriends. She gladly helps with household chores and likes to imitate the actions of her foster mother. Studious and determined, Nicola did not attend first through third grades, but is generally successful in school now and strives to be at the top of her class. Nicola currently attends 7th grade where her favorite subject is language arts. When classmates insult the memory of her father or her birth family in general, conflicts can arise, but Nicola seeks assistance from the teacher when necessary. Nicola enjoys creative pursuits, such as drawing and coloring. She loves to dance and hopes to become a professional dancer someday. Nicola is open to being adopted and would like to be in a family with siblings and pets. She very much hopes that her adoptive family would allow her to return to her birth county to visit as this is important to her, but also expects that her new parents will help her process and overcome the traumatic experiences she had in her family of origin.