This week I had the pleasure of working with Jaylen (I don’t remember her name, I’m sorry!) as well as Samiah. I asked them what they want to be when they grow up. My reasoning behind this isn’t for them to know exactly what that is at nine, I’m twenty-eight and I just figured it out for myself. What “I want to be when I grow up” has changed about thirty times since I was their age, but what was important was that I was always encouraged to dream and there were always people who supported me in doing so. I thought I knew pretty much everything about Samiah having worked with her since September, but she likes to keep me on my toes. From the girl that has continuously told me she doesn’t enjoy much about school besides gym class, comes the response that she wants to be a kindergarten teacher. I know that she can do whatever she sets her mind to, and it made me happy that she might be starting to like school. After reading her response we discussed the steps to get there, including going to college. She was enthusiastic about it and was even more excited when I told her in May she’ll be visiting BMC to get an idea of what it’s like.
This was my first week working with Jaylen. She comes off as shy at first, but that is not the case. She is very inquisitive and thoughtful, she asked me a lot of questions about school and insisted I help her pick a book to read as well as go first when we played Candy Land. Her response to the writing prompt was relatable, I would love a career in which I eat donuts with my friends everyday too. However, in our conversation about it, she more so emphasized wanting to solve crimes and help people.
Both girls were able to quickly respond to what I asked, which I assume means they have put thought into this question before. I am happy that they have people who inspire them to have goals, and I hope to be a part in their journey to achieving them.