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OKLAHOMA CITY – Zach is only 13 yet very in tune with where he’s at in life and where he wants to be. He’s easygoing and has big dreams for his future.

Zach is building a new life for himself.

“I like to read, sometimes sing,” he said. “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’s a teen on a mission to find a family.

“So, me, necessarily, 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, many “lows” and some surprising “highs” for the young man.

“When my mom actually terminated her rights, because that was the kick start in me believing, ‘Wait, me getting in foster care isn’t my fault. It was her fault,'” he said.

So, now, Zach’s ready for a new life.

“I just want to get out of the system,” he said. “Me, personally, 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.”

But, most of all…

“Who’s going to be my reason to get up in the morning?” he said.

A family to help Zach reach his goal of being a cartoonist one day and support his favorite pastimes.

“I just doodle sometimes, and then I get a little character and then I make it work,” he said.

And, when life doesn’t go his way, Zach gets back up…

“Well, that’s how the cookie crumbles,” he said.

… time and time again with the hope he’ll someday soon find his place to call home

“A home that doesn’t give up, like a family that doesn’t give up,” he said.

For more information on adopting Zach, call Tom Peterson at 405-325-9398.

OKDHS is desperately in need of more foster families. If you’re interested in fostering, call the foster parent hotline at 1-800-376-9729 or visit okfosters.org.

‘A Place To Call Home’ is sponsored by Great Plains Bank.