by Destiny Smith
Maria Chaves has been there and back, can explain herself well, and knows what she wants out of life.
The 18-year-old native of Bogota, Columbia, has lived in Oklahoma for 10 years. She became a U.S. citizen last year.
Chaves will be a senior at Deer Creek High School in the fall. She wants to attend an out-of-state college but would not mind attending The University of Oklahoma.
Her hobbies are playing piano, writing bad poetry and volunteering at an elementary school.
When Chaves was 8, a friend’s home burned, leaving the girl with nothing. Chaves recalled seeing her friend wearing the same clothes for weeks. When she moved, she regretted not having been able to help her friend.
“If I could help someone, then I would take [the opportunity],” Chaves said.
Her favorite family memories growing up are of watching television, especially bad soap operas, and going to the beach and building sand castles.
But she feels her family has drifted apart. She wishes they were as close as when she was a child in Bogota. As an adult, she doesn’t feel the same connection to her parents.
“You can’t go back,” she said. “The hugs and the kisses are over.”
Instead, she wants an adult relationship with her parents.
Chaves said she would like to be a doctor helping vaccinate children in other countries. She would do that “just to help people.”
