News

Actions

‘Who’s going to be my reason to get up in the morning?’: Oklahoma teen searches for a foster family

Posted at 10:37 AM, Sep 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-07 10:38:11-04

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- A well-spoken teenager from Oklahoma is searching for a new foster family. Zach is only 13 yet in tune with where he is in life and where he wants to be. He's easygoing and has big dreams for his future and is building a new life for himself.

"I like to read, sometimes sing,” he told KFOR. "I also like to draw sometimes. I'm not the best but, you know, when I get older, I do want to be a cartoonist."

Zach is on a mission to find a family.

"I don't care if it's mom or a dad or if it's both. I don't care. I just want to be there for as many people as I can," he said.

Zach's been in and out of foster homes for four years now. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like that long to him. "I always thought it was a year, and then my caseworker finally told me, 'Zach, it's not been a year. It's been four years, man,'" he said.

And, in that time, there have been many "lows" and some surprising "highs" for the young man.

"When my mom actually terminated her rights ... that was the kickstart in me believing, 'Wait, me getting in foster care isn't my fault. It was her fault,'" he said.

Now Zach is ready for a new life, a family to help him reach his goal of being a cartoonist one day. "I just doodle sometimes, and then I get a little character and then I make it work,” he said.

"I just want to get out of the system," he said. "I don't want to age out, because my point of view is who's going to push me to get a job? Who's going to help me when I fall down? Who's going to pick me up?"

Most of all, Zach is looking for that motivation that most teenagers get from their family. "Who's going to be my reason to get up in the morning?” he said.

Contact the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.