THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 12, 1994 TAG: 9406110076
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON
DATELINE: 940612 LENGTH: FRANKLIN
Whitfield, 17, turned her back on the wild lifestyle she had pursued for nearly three years - one that landed her in a series of foster homes.
{REST} Her parents, who could no longer handle her, had gone to court and given up custody of Whitfield, the older of their two daughters.
But they never gave up hope of reclaiming their child.
Finally Whitfield, who had been consumed by alcohol and drugs, asked for another chance.
After a fight with her second foster mother, she decided she could not endure further separation from her family.
``I couldn't handle it,'' Whitfield said. ``I called my mom and said, `Come get me.' And of course, she came right to me.''
This week, Whitfield will graduate from Franklin High School with honors, and a year ahead of schedule.
She plans to enter Virginia Commonwealth University this fall and major in journalism with minors in anthropology and photography.
Her goal is to work for a national magazine, eventually doing documentaries and cultural studies in South America or Africa.
Whitfield has always loved writing and art, for which she has won several awards.
``But my art is very personal,'' she said. ``I don't want to have to sell myself out.''
She knows she'll have to take the future one day at a time.
``I'm an alcoholic,'' she said. ``I'm an addict. I always will be.''
Whitfield was doing the same things other teenagers were doing, she said. But many others tried to hide their alcohol and drug use from their parents.
``I didn't care who knew about it,'' she said. ``My problem was I just didn't know when to stop.''
Trust is still difficult for her parents, she said. But she is trying to show them she is trustworthy.
She's been ``clean,'' she said, since September.
``But I'm pretty much bound and determined,'' Whitfield said. ``I have come this far.''
Her parents, Dennis and Nancy Whitfield, were not the reason she got into trouble, she said.
But they were the reason she returned home.
``I was pushing them so far away,'' she said.
Now she is pushing herself.
To finish high school early, she went to summer school last year and took extra classes during the regular school year.
She also took classes at night at Paul D. Camp Community College and worked part-time at Wendy's.
``I really don't have time to do things I used to do, even if I wanted to,'' she said.
Staying busy helps, but that's not enough to keep someone out of trouble, Whitfield said.
``But it gives me something to focus on,'' she said.
This summer, she is looking forward to a two-week family vacation in Mexico with her parents and her 14-year-old sister, Jo Clair.
Her struggles have been difficult for her parents, Whitfield said. She knows they were trying to help her even though she refused it for so long.
``You can't give somebody help unless they want it,'' she said.
{KEYWORDS} CLASS OF 1994 GRADUATION
by CNB