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Running away isn't always running away. Many times running away is thought of as a journey to find a better life.

That was the case for a girl named Jane. In the early seventies her young life was in turmoil. With a violent step-father and a weak, dependent mother, Jane felt lost and alone. She felt that her mother couldn't help her with her problems, because she couldn't deal with her own.

By her thirteenth birthday Jane was on the road, hitch-hiking across the state with a couple of dollars and some change in her pocket, looking for a better life. Every minute she spent walking strange roads and riding in strange cars, was a minute of peace that she could not have enjoyed if she was home.

That first summer Jane was picked up by the police and transported home three times. Each return was harder to handle. The arguments were louder and more vicious, and much of her step-father's rage focused on Jane's running away. The man didn't tell her how they'd worried over her or anything that might convince Jane that running away was wrong and hurtful. His anger was over the dust on the bookcases and the lawn needing to be tended.

With every angry word from her step-father, Jane plotted her next adventure in detail. In spite of her being put on probation for being a problem child, Jane felt the pull to return to the open road.

Jane was older than her years, street smart and alone. Each time she left home she was better prepared. It wasn't until she was threatened with reform school if she was truant when school began, that Jane put a hold on her running away.

The real danger of being a child out on the road alone, didn't equal the despair she felt having to stay in a turbulent home. For the school year, Jane endured the home life, but as soon as summer started, she hit the road.

By age sixteen, Jane was emancipated. All thoughts of running away from home disappeared from her mind. Jane was on her own, working hard. She had a small apartment and the peace in her life that she'd longed for, for years.

Runaways are easy targets who often fall victim to vicious criminals. Unfortunately, many of them feel they would be easier targets if they stayed in a violent home.

Jane is an example of a runaway from years gone by. If you change the time and name, the story could me an outline of thousands of young people who feel forced to run to something better, some safer place.

Learn more about this author, Jacqueline Foster.
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