I Used to Be a Homeless Teenager at 16, Now I’m an Oxford Student and It Feels Surreal

Chloe Pomfret, 20, is a girl who used to be a homeless teenager walking the streets of Manchester. She now has a life that has taken a surreal turn. The young lady has been accepted into Oxford University, and now she shares her story, that made thousands of people believe that true miracles happen after hard times.

Chloe’s life wasn’t a bed of roses at all.

Chloe Pomfret is a young lady, who’s only 20 years old, but she’s been through so many troubles and pain in her life already, that it’s hard to believe how she managed to survive. A young woman used to walk the streets of Manchester, being a homeless teenager. She grew up in foster care when she was a child after she became estranged from her family when her granddad died.

Chloe was separated from her parents and siblings at the age of 5, and now she does not wish to name her relatives in her interviews. The girl only mentions that being taken away from her parents and her siblings was a very traumatic process, but it was a necessity at that time, as her mom and dad had bad habits that prevented them from caring for their children.

As a teenager, Chloe experienced the darkest side of life.

By the time of her teenage years, Chloe hadn’t seen much happiness in her life. She spent 3 months sofa surfing and was literally living on the streets. This all happened when she was just 16, and it was a time when she had the darkest thoughts in her mind.

Describing her hopelessness, Chloe said that she was absolutely desperate and felt she had “nowhere to turn”. But her school luckily helped her with accommodation and the girl decided to dedicate all her time and effort to her further education and had a sacred dream of becoming a biology teacher.

Chloe didn’t believe in wonders, and worked hard.

Chloe was a typical hard worker at that time, studying to pursue her career goals in the future. Applying to Oxford University was not on the girl’s radar, but one day Chloe discovered the Human Sciences course at Oxford. This was literally everything she had ever dreamed of.

So, full of hopes, she decided to submit an application. At that point, Chloe’s term of supported accommodation was coming to an end and if she couldn’t have another place to live, she would become homeless again. And much to her surprise, Chloe was offered a university place during this time and just as she got the news, the young woman shared her story, saying, “Benefits girl is going to Oxford.”

Now Chloe is living her dream life, and inspires others.

Now, the young lady is happily leaving behind the years she spent in foster care and becoming estranged and homeless. Chloe has already spent her first year at the prestigious university, but her mission there hasn’t been only studying. Chloe, being a live example, is changing the university policy with only one aim. She wants to help support students like herself, giving equal opportunities to everyone and inspiring people to pursue their dreams whatever happens.

Chloe confessed that for her, it still feels surreal when she walks out into Oxford. She admires all big, fancy buildings, and for the girl it’s just a whole other world. It’s a big surprise for her to go to formals, where they’re serving her food, and she has a cleaner that comes and cleans her room, and the only thought that comes to her mind at this sight is, “What on Earth?”.

The young lady feels extremely grateful that she’s had the support to get to where she’s now. She feels absolutely lucky because she realizes that other students in her situation probably wouldn’t have had this.

Chloe was the co-member for Class Act, an organization at Oxford, that supports estranged students and students from working class backgrounds. The lady wants to continue helping people who have the similar backgrounds, and feels lucky to have overcome all the challenges she has faced.

She considers her life before Oxford a horrible experience, but surprisingly she wouldn’t want to change a thing. The girl believes she had learned much from it, as being estranged taught her to be resilient, independent and use her journey to help people.

And here’s yet another inspirational story about a girl who became a mom at 14, but never gave up and inspired many women with her example.