Khalid Obeirne, 19, London

21 March 2011 Youth Work Participation

I had a difficult start in life; I was in foster care at the age of two, moved from family to family and grew up on estates where my only role models were people committing crime.

I thought I would never amount to anything.

I live in a YMCA youth hostel, which is where I found out about the Column Idol competition run by The Sun and Media Trust to give young writers the chance to share their opinions.

I never expected to be shortlisted, let alone make it into the final six. I was invited to The Sun's offices to work on my column idea. Next came the daunting task of presenting it to the judging panel, which included Sun editor Dominic Mohan and columnist Jane Moore.

Although I didn't win, I feel proud to have been picked for the final six.

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