it's been 2 1/2 years.
that i've worked
here.
in an after-school club.
and i've loved every minute of it. (mostly).
starting with the minutes working with dear kevin.
kevin, who i could motivate easier than anyone through snacks and candy bars.
kevin (this still remains my number one favorite story), whom i saw sneaking bags of potato chips into his coat sleeves, and i, wanting to prove that i have eyes in the back of my head, walked up behind him and asked, 'what are you doing, kev?' His reply: 'oh! these potato chips must have fallen into my coat sleeves! i'd better put them back. . . '
and to dear, sweet
marco, who i've seen grow up (at least a foot and a half)
and who still remains the sweet, quiet, innocent, and hard-working kid.
to
donovan, who is the tiniest punk i've ever seen.
to
philip, the biggest flirt of an eighth grader.
who, on many occasions, begged to be my boyfriend.
to
austin, who, someday, i will recognize by his photo in the sleeve of a brand new best-seller.
to
kayson, who i missed the day they told me he couldn't come to mentoring anymore, because of all of his 'extra help' outside of mentoring. the extra help with the teacher he despised. and the teacher who made fun of him, and who never saw him produce an inch of work. i will never forget his face at that moment. i wish they could have realized all of the help he needed was a little care and trust, and once that comes, he will work for hours.
to
taylor, who impressed me everyday with his knowledge from wikipedia, french, and video-games.
to
michael, who is just michael.
i will never forget that moment when playing catch phrase, and all of us adults, puzzled at a word, he read it and explained it's meaning in an almost dictionary-perfect definition. whenever he speaks, i think instantly of sheldon cooper.
to
juan, jesse, and
fernando, who are three of the sweetest boys, despite what teachers say.
i'll always be amazed at juan's skateboarding and video-editing skills, jesse's sense of humor and artistic way about him, and fernando and when he is always the first one to help out.
to
fransisco, who i lived for the moments when i could hear that click in his brain, and for the moments that he understood what he was doing in math.
to
jorge, who i threw off his schedule today, because it was a wednesday, and i only come on tuesdays and thursdays. from his reaction, it was almost as though he had never been so surprised, or confused, in his entire life.
and to
amon, who is new. and from curitiba, brazil. and when he spoke portuguese on the telephone, i got goosebumps.
and i'm so grateful that i didn't yell at you today,
david.i was very close.
oh, little boys, i will surely miss you.
i learned so much from you.
i hope you learned from me.
i know you can succeed in whatever you do
and i hope you realize that.
