Runaway teen decides to be a 'car' instead of a 'rock'

At around 14 years old, Jenna Tang decided she did not want to be stuck in a bad place forever.

Two years on, after falling out with her foster mother and twice running away from a children’s home, Jenna has turned her life around.

On Dec 16, the Tampines Secondary School student received her N-level examination results. She scored an A in science and B in English, and did well enough in other subjects such as mother tongue and maths to qualify for her dream course – sports management at the Institute of Technical Education.

Her dream to go into sports management started after a social worker prompted her to think about her future.

Jenna, now 16, said: “I remember what she told me, and it hit me deep. My social worker told me that I could continue with whatever I was doing, like running away, but in the long term, would I want to be like a car where I can move forward, or a rock that will be forever stuck in a bad situation?”

The arguments with her foster mother started small, and became larger, more physical ones, causing Jenna to be placed in a children’s home.

It was a “very difficult” time for her, Jenna said – she was given only a few days to move into the children’s home, and it took place during her school exams.

“I had no motivation to go to school, and right when I went into the home, they gave me more rules and routines to follow,” she said.

Finding it hard to adapt to her new environment, Jenna ran away from the children’s home on two separate occasions – once disappearing for up to a month – and also skipped school.

After getting a wake-up call from the social worker, she decided to make a fresh start.

“I have always been into sports, and I love playing football,” said Jenna. “So I found a course that I wanted (to study) and told myself that I had to work really hard to get into that specific course.”

She started to pay more attention in class, thinking more about her own future, and using her passion for football to motivate herself. “I really want to get the opportunity to represent Singapore,” she added.

 

Jenna, who was part of her school’s football team, started to take on more responsibility in the sport by training her juniors. In 2023, she was in the squad that eventually came in second at the National School Games.

She also credits her turnaround to the support she received from her school counsellors and teachers – they constantly checked up on her and gave her additional classes so she could catch up with her peers.

Her school counsellor, Ms S. Manjushree, was her biggest supporter.

“When I did not want to come to school, Ms Manju was the one who consistently texted me, asking me to come,” Jenna said. “She understands me a lot... whenever I was feeling down, she would try her best to help me overcome the sadness.”

The pair met frequently when Jenna was in Secondary 3. By the end of that year, Jenna was one of the top three students in her class for English, and her maths grades had improved significantly.

Ms Manjushree also encouraged Jenna to use her past life experiences to empathise with and counsel those younger than her, the teenager said.

 

Jenna’s advice for others in situations similar to hers is to be patient, and to not give up.

“Just give yourself time to improve, and focus on small improvements instead of giving yourself high expectations that you cannot meet,” said Jenna, who hopes to continue playing football and eventually become a coach.

Describing herself as determined, she added that she learnt a lot about herself as she went through those trying times.

“I learnt that I am actually quite capable and independent,” she said.

“I gave myself a goal, persevered, and worked towards it.”