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SALT LAKE CITY — Zoo life is simple. The animals get fed. They graze and they are cared for. Something about this life draws Makaela.
"Why do the giraffes have two horns on the tops of their heads?" Makaela asked a zookeeper at Utah's Hogle Zoo.
Makaela can't remember if she's ever been to the zoo before. Wednesday she got an up close visit with many of the animals.
"I pet a giraffe," she said with a smile. "It's really awesome."
The 16-year-old couldn't help but notice something. "They take care of their young," she said.
The family topic is a tough one for Makaela. "If there was one thing in the entire world that I could change, it would be how parents treat their kids," she said. "There shouldn't be any abuse like verbal or physical."
Makaela lives in foster care and she's been there for some time now. "Since I was 5 pretty much," she said.
Even though it's been a long time, her feelings still run close to the surface.
"I'm still upset about it. (It's hard) to talk about it," she said. "I'm getting through it. I'm finding ways to get through it and figure things out."
Part of figuring things out means finding a place she belongs.
"I'm loving and caring," she said. "I will put others needs before me and I will volunteer to do anything."
This selfless teen deserves a simple life, a place where she is taken care of.
To learn more about Makaela or the many other children living in the Utah foster care system, contact The Adoption Exchange.
