Making a Difference

A few days ago, I friended a former student on facebook. I had been her mentor from grades 6-8, but she had moved the summer before starting high school, so I was glad to reconnect with her after four years. I knew she had graduated from high school in June, and I sent a message asking how she'd been and what she was doing. She replied right away. hey i been gud nd thanx i miss u being my mentor nd erything we should chill one day

So I invited her lunch, and we're going tomorrow. Yesterday, when I logged into fb, I noticed her status on my newsfeed: CANT WAIT 4 THURSDAY

Awwww, I thought and clicked over to her page, where I read the following exchange with her friend, N:

R: CANT WAIT 4 THURSDAY
N: Y?
R: cuz im goin sumwere
N: Oh
R: YEP WIT MY OLD MENTOR
N: ? Mentor?
R: SUM ONE WHO KEEPZ U OUT OF TROUBLE
N: I know what it means. Didn't know you had one
R: YEP HAD 1 SINCE DA 6TH GRADE

I particularly like the part where she assumes that her friend doesn't know what a mentor is. It is soooo in character and reminds me of a time when she was working out with the girls basketball team in middle school. The guy I coach with was running them through a drill. "Dribble with your left hand!" he directed, but she continued down the court with her right. "Left!" he shouted. "Use your LEFT hand!" Still she dribbled on with the wrong hand. As she past him, he caught her eye and said sarcastically, "Your OTHER left!"

"Oh!" she replied with equal exasperation. "Well make up your mind!"