Life is going in the right direction for Davion Only-Going, a -20-year-old in Florida who once stole hearts around the world when he stood in front of a church congregation as a teen and begged for a family to adopt him.
On Thursday, Only-Going accomplished a goal that a few years ago seemed impossible: he graduated high school.
'I am in a good position right now and I can chase my dreams like I wanted to,' he told ABC News Thursday after crossing the stage at MycroSchool Pinellas.
'I had the drive - and he (God) knew I had the drive - and he wanted me to be successful so he was like, '(I) am not going to put you through any more struggle.''
Davion Only-Going (pictured left with his arm around his mother) graduated from high school in Florida on Thursday
The now-20-year-old gained national attention when in 2013 he stood before a church congregation and pleaded for a family to adopt him
Only-Going (left) spent his entire life in foster care before Connie Going (right) adopted him in 2015
Only-Going (center) said he plans to attend technical school to become a chef
According to the outlet, Only-Going was awarded a scholarship at Thursday's ceremony, which his adoptive family attended.
He said he already has a job and plans to attend a technical school for culinary with the hopes of becoming a chef.
'I'm not done growing. I still have room to grow. I haven't even lived my life yet,' he said. 'I still have work to do before I can say, 'I was a success story.''
Only-Going gained international attention in 2013 when as a 15-year-old he stood in front of a congregation at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida and asked for a family to adopt him.
'I'll take anyone,' he said at the time. 'Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple, I don't care. And I would be really appreciative; the best I could be.'
Connie Going, who was was working as a caseworker at the time, adopted him in April 2015.
Only-Going said he credits his adoptive family's love for motivating him to finish school.
Only-Going is pictured in the back with his adopted mom Connie, his siblings and Connie's mother
Only-Going (back right) knew Connie and her kids since he was a child but she did not adopt him until April 2015
Only-Going is pictured center with his brother Taylor, who is also adopted, and his sister
'That's why I try my hardest, every day, 'cause I know they're here. They're going to help me and I don't want to waste their help, in a sense,' he told ABC. 'Back then, if I would have aged out, I probably wouldn't have had these opportunities. I probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to go to school. I probably would have dropped out of high school.'
He added: 'Instead of everything going right, it could've went straight left. ... God has a plan for everybody and he guided me through it.'
Last year, Only-Going opened up to DailyMail.com about life with his new family. Despite a few growing pains, the young man said things were going well and he was having 'fun' with his new mom and siblings.
'I feel a lot more freedom, and I can have a lot more fun – and I feel I have people that I can rely on,' he said. 'But I still would always think, 'I have to do it for myself.' I'll always feel that. It's a lot better than foster care; I can say it's 100 times better than foster care.'
'Now I have a family who actually cares for me, and it's a pretty good feeling to know that there's people that care about you and want you to succeed in life,' Only-Going continued.
Connie, who has another adoptive son named Taylor, gushed about her son's success.
'He's an amazing human being,' she told ABC News. 'I mean, he's graduating from high school. Now, he can take the next step. ... I'm excited to see where he's going to go and what he's going to do.'
Sasha_Fire on June 9th, 2018 at 15:38 UTC »
This made me cry, I was also adopted really late in life but without her I wouldn't be where I am today. I relate to when he said if he'd aged out of the system with no one to count on he wouldn't have gotten this far, it's not impossible but when you go your whole life moving around in garbage bags feeling like you have nobody even one person can make all the difference. I'm so happy for him.
Huh--- on June 9th, 2018 at 15:04 UTC »
This is great. As a foster care child all of my life, I can attest to how horrible all 95% of the homes I've been in. I'm glad this guy found a good home.
Inantii on June 9th, 2018 at 10:28 UTC »
This is great. Children and young people in the care system tend to have poor outcomes. For example, they are over-represented in prisons.