By Brittney McKenna

A birthday spent with our families is a luxury a lot of us likely take for granted. For those without families, a day that should be filled with loved ones is instead marked by loneliness. Natalie Carson, 19, understood that loneliness all too well and decided to use an unorthodox tool to find a family to celebrate her 20th birthday with her: Craigslist.

The 19-year-old from Westminster, Colorado posted a listing with the headline, "Young Female College Student looking to 'rent' family for birthday." She promised any takers that she wasn't looking for money and even offered to pay them $8 an hour for participating. She explained that she had aged out of the foster care system and would like a family to spend her special day with her.

"I just want one day that I can feel important and special, and like I matter even if I really don't," she wrote in the ad. "I have never had a good birthday so I figure why not this birthday."

Carson, who is currently pursuing a degree in computer science, got the idea from a California girl who posted a similar ad and hoped that doing the same would finally give her the birthday she'd always dreamt of.

"Of course, I've had birthdays, but they haven't been good," she told 7News. "Usually every birthday is really painful and hard."

She was initially hesitant to place the ad, fearing people would think she was "crazy" and wondering "who would respond." What she didn't expect was the way her story would catch on. Over 1,000 people have reached out to her so far with messages of support, gifts and offers to be her rented family.

"I swear I’m getting four emails a minute now,” she told Yahoo Parenting.

It's a sad story with a very happy ending, one that unfortunately doesn't always come for many other foster children who have aged out of the system. The outpouring of support for Carson, though, is encouraging and will hopefully bring greater attention to cases like hers.