Apartment Carpet

When I was in high school, my whole life fell apart. My family fell apart and I did some really stupid things that changed my life and that I am still recovering from. As bad as it was, it could have been much worse. I think one of the things that kept me from doing stupider things than I did was the support and (usually unheeded) guidance from adults outside of the drama that was happening in my family (two of whom are probably reading this - thanks). All of that made me want to try and provide that same type of support for someone else, so I am going to mentor a little girl at a local disadvantaged elementary school through Austin Partners in Education. It's a very scary thing for me - I'm not at all a social person, and it is always a fight and a struggle to keep myself engaged with the outside world. By agreeing to be Chloe's mentor, I am cutting off my choice to retreat because I couldn't stand to disappoint her.

However, as terrifying as it is, I think it will be worth it. We have only met twice so far, but I think it will work out. She is a lot like me - shy, scared, and a bookworm. The second time I came to see her, I peeked into her classroom. When she saw me, she got a huge smile on her face, yelled my name, and came running across the room to hug me. It made all the scariness and the time and the effort absolutely worth it. The first time we met, I made her an origami flower and she asked me to teach her how to make things like that. This is her first try - isn't it great? She even made it a 'pond' to live in, and drew food in it. Then she insisted that I take it back to work with me so that I wouldn't forget her.