Besides actually working for
Big Brothers Big Sisters, I was also a Big Sister.
My little sister's name was Holly and she was such a cool kid. She came into the program before I started working there. She was about 11 at the time, and while the case manager was interviewing her mother, she walked down the street to a thrift store and bought a circa 1970s prom dress and put it on for her interview. Her mother was worried that Holly would never be a "normal teenager". *GASP*
I was matched up with Holly three years later. We got together and went out to eat, went shopping, went to concerts...Her home life wasn't so great. Her dad tried to buy her off whenever he was in town, and her mom was busy with her business and the other three siblings in the home. In spite of these challenges, Holly seemed to be a very well adjusted kid.
Often, when I called Holly, she would be too busy to hang out. She would list off activities that she was involved with, and really cool things she was doing. After a few months, I realised she was much cooler than I was and didn't really have time for me.
I am no longer a Big Sister, but I look back at those times and consider myself lucky that this gifted and intelligent teenager included me in her life for a short time.
This was a nodeshell rescue.