Be the change you want to see in the world

I want to be a writer. But that doesn’t mean I want to leave my job. I work for one of the most amazing programs in Boston. I don’t just say that because they pay my bills. I say that because it’s true.

Urban Improv does so much for the kids who visit the program. I could go on and on, but no amount of words can do it justice. Seeing is believing with our workshops and our kids and our actors. It makes me believe in the ultimate goodness of the human spirit.

Then again, I spend most of my day in front of a computer. Managing a database. Answering email inquiries. Processing invoices. Sexy stuff. I don’t mind. Obviously, it gives me the idleness of an hour to skulk on Facebook or blog. But, I know it is necessary machinery to this amazing organization.

Today I decided to get myself more involved. I volunteered to become a mentor.

Seven years ago I was matched with a Little Sister. We spent three years together making brownies, gluing glitter onto art projects, going to the movies, not going to McDonald’s. I learned about the Disney Channel’s current tween wonder, the rules in public school these days (you can’t run at recess?), and how much children want to be grownups. I think we forget that when we grow up and want to be younger. We forget that being a kid was painful and frustrating. And how important it was to have a grown up listen to you like you were an intelligent being. Not an ignorant child.

I liked having my Saturdays back when our three years ended. Although I basically signed them over to Beauport and theater. But I missed the baking, the conversations full of honest observations – and hell, I even missed the Disney Channel (a LITTLE bit). I wrote her a letter or two… but then it faded away until a random phone call last Christmas when I realized how much those three years meant to her.

Now life is in a relatively good place. I am inspired by the work of my company. I want to contribute. I want to do more than fundraising and invoices. I want to listen to a child and make her smile. Because I know, ultimately, my smile will be just as grand, if not more.

Maybe you want to smile too : http://www.urbanimprov.org/?Page=involved&topic=mentor