Beth Walton channels her inner teenager

ASHEVILLE – The best thing about CARING for Children's big house in West Asheville on Thursday evening was the people inside. While it was true that each girl there had her own story of abuse and neglect that would make anyone's heart flinch, you wouldn't know that by siting down to a meal.

"We're just like anyone else," said resident Zena Redmond, 18. "We want the same things; we just don't always get the same things, or even get them at all."

Called Cornerstone, the house is a transitional living home for girls ages 16-21 with nowhere else to go. Just like my sister and I used to do in the early 1990s, the girls at Cornerstone style each other's hair. They argue with their moms over the phone. They eat dinner in their pajamas. They have dreams of being models, actresses and teachers. They can't wait to finish high school and go off to college.
They take turns doing chores. They share rides to school. And, even though they won't all admit it over this particular meal of pork chops, cabbage and mashed potatoes, Redmond insists, they see each other as family.

Sometimes they love each other; other times they can't wait to get away.

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