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BlogComm
COMM 3030 - Communication and Social Responsibility
Being a Big Brother can bring a smile to your face :)
Posted posted by Mike Rogers @ 9:25 AM
Over the last couple of weeks my conscience has really been kicking me in the butt to get involved in something in my community. The reason why is that I know how beneficial it is to both me and the people that I am helping. The reason I know is that I have had an experience that has really helped two lives, both mine, and a boy named Anthony.About five years ago I signed up to be a mentor for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah. I was at a point in my life where I needed a change. The only things I ever did was go to work and party. It was time to get some meaning back into my life, and I thought this might help. I applied for the mentoring program at BBBS, and was matched up with Anthony. Anthony was an 11 year old Hispanic boy. He lived with his single mother, in their West Valley apartments. His mother worked full time, so Anthony had to take care of himself after school until his mother returned home from work.
The first time I took Anthony for an activity we went bowling. It was horrible, this kid is lucky he didn't come home with a black eye. He was rude, disrespectful, and had a mouth like a sailor. I had no idea that an 11 year old could act like that. At that point I knew this was not going to be easy. That night I called my mom and talked to her about the whole experience. She told me that "You really have a chance to help this kid, and if you quit now you will not only be giving up on him you will be giving up on yourself". I love my mom, she was right. The next couple of times Anthony and I hung out things were a lot better. Instead of trying to be his dad, I just acted like a friend. We laughed, joked, I gave him advice, he gave me advice. Some of the stories he told me really made me grateful for the life that I had, and made me want to help even more with his. Over the next year we became pretty good friends, and in my opinion we both grew up a lot.
I still talk to Anthony from time to time, and he is doing great. He has a job and is still going to school. I have a family of my own, and a two year old daughter that is the love of my life. My family is my number one priority, but the more I think about Anthony the more I want to show another 11 year old kid that someone actually cares about them.
