New mentee

I have a new kiddo at work that I'm going to mentor. I'm going to give the mentor thing another shot and see what happens. Things didn't end well with Princess but much of that was her doing. Her behavior got worse and worse the longer she was at our facility and to be honest, she used up people, manipulated others and was generally a pain in the arse to everyone who encountered the child. She's gone now, at college, and really doesn't have anything to do with anyone who won't give her stuff or money. That's sad, but it's the way it is.

Our facility has redone the mentor program and actually gave it some structure. It was a new idea when I started working with Princess and now there are guidelines and rules which actually help rather than hurt. So I said I would give it another try.

I've been matched with the child who is the anti-Princess in every single way, which I personally think is really cool. I've been matched with Girl.

Girl is 17 and has been "in the system" since she was 7 years old. Her mom died in a car accident and her 2 oldest siblings went to live with an aunt and the 2 youngest went to grandma and she went into foster care. After being there for awhile, grandma felt guilty and let her come live with her but Girl didn't make that easy and was then put back in foster care again. Then the aunt tried and again Girl ended up in foster. Her dad terminated his rights when she was 2 or 3 years old. She's bounced around foster homes and group homes for many years, running away, drugs, living with a cousin here and there. She's had a mess of a life and also made poor choices along the way. Right now she's at our place and is clean and sober for over a year. She's soon to be 18 years old and is taking independent living classes and working on her GED. She's making good choices right now!

She's pretty hard core but super nice. She doing all she's supposed to do and then some extra. She's funny and kind and a little reserved. She talked A LOT. She is not girlie AT ALL. In all honesty, she's a lesbian and is very "butch". I don't mean this ins a disrespectful way- she says this about herself. She shaved her head and has about 1/2 inch of black fuzz remaining, and wears men's clothing. She doesn't like anything girlie like pink of shoe shopping or dresses.

BUT she loves to talk and laugh. She's a smart kid so I can have a conversation with her and not feel like I'm addressing a wall. She's very funny- a great sense of humor. She has a direction in life and some goals. She loves music and reading and movies. She likes to do just about anything and she can be silly.

We've hung out twice and talked on the phone twice, in addition to seeing each other at school. She's actually a good fit for me. She doesn't whine or throw a fit when she doesn't get her way. She likes getting a Mountain Dew and sitting at park, gabbing. She flat out said we don't have to do stuff because it's nice to have someone to talk to who will listen to her and that she doesn't have to share my attention and I'm not a therapist.

So we'll see where this goes. In the meantime, we had a hoot of a time the first few times we were together, eating, walking the park, and me trying to convince her hand lotion is a good thing! HA!

Maggie the Mentor