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SALT LAKE CITY — At Utah's Hogle Zoo, the animals normally take center stage, but on Wednesday there was a special visitor.
Jadyn is a 15-year-old boy with a smile that could brighten any cloudy day, and he's got a personality to go right along with it.
"Oh, I'm loving this," Jadyn said as he fed the animals. "This is so cool."
When he learned he would be spending the day at the zoo, he could hardly contain his excitement.
"I'm kind of freaking out right now," he said.
Just like the baby animals at the zoo, Jadyn needs someone to rely on and look up to. Unfortunately, that's something he's missing.
"My parents weren't really the best parents," he said.
Jadyn says he remembers everything about his childhood.
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"Yeah, it was pretty hard," he said.
He's in 10th grade, a time when most teens strive for independence and the chance to get away from their parents. Jadyn can't help but long for the very thing his classmates try to escape.
"They're lucky because they get that and sometimes I kind of get upset about it," he said.
He knows being upset won't get him any closer to what he wants most — adoption.
"I try my hardest to stay happy and to do good things," he said.
And so for the boy with the smile that could brighten any cloudy day, he's just hoping someone is waiting to brighten his.
"Someday I hope they get to know me and love me and care for me," he said.
