Even though I (allegedly) owe $640 to the government day after tomorrow, and don't know where I'll be living in 2 weeks (again), and will be officially over the mid-twenties-hill on the 17th (embracing my wisdom and astoundingly enviable life-stability) - today was a good day.
I'm helping to co-facilitate a life-coaching group in Oakland through the non-profit I work for. Everyone in the group is hoping to exit their career counseling sessions with the skills to achieve a job in the "Green" industry (installing solar panels etc). Most of the students have had children at a young age, or didn't graduate high school, and/or have had other familial and life hardships. Although they are motivated to get the most out of the experience, they also have a(n understandably) tough exterior - says the only white girl in the room today dubbed "college-girl".
One of the exercises we did this afternoon was to sit one at a time at the top of the group while each classmate told you what they liked about you. Everyone was respectful, everyone had something to say, and everyone was smiling. At the end, a particularly quiet student said this in reflection:
"Sometimes I am really shy in this group and I don't say much. But I appreciated the chance to tell everyone how I really feel. We see each other every week and soon we will go our own ways, and I realize without this activity I would have never said anything."
I swear I didn't cry. But I wanted to. That might have deteriorated my authority as "college-girl". Who seems like I could also be a "home-girl". So true. So true.
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