A singer or doctor: Her future is big

The future is a big question mark for Makayla: Should she be a singer, a dancer, a podiatrist, or a psychologist?

"I'm in the middle of deciding," she says, admitting to some confusion over just which career path she wants to follow.

But Makayla has a bit of time. She's only 11.

Upbeat and outgoing, she enjoys making new acquaintances and easily engages in conversation, with both adults and other children. She likes to sing, dance, and shop, and expresses her creative side in her drawings, her favorite subjects being people, flowers, and animals.

A fifth grader, Makayla loves school and hates to see the day end because it means she has to leave. Math class is tops with her, but what she likes most about school is making friends.

Although she is still making up her mind about the future, Makayla has very definite ideas about the present. More than anything, she wants a forever family and especially yearns for a mother.

"A mom is somebody who is there for me and who cares about my education, somebody who wants me to become what I want to become, not somebody who wants me to become something that they were," she says.

"I'm just looking for a family that will love me."