One of my first individual visits with my mentee from Rite of Passage was on Raul's birthday. The week before, he mentioned that we'd be getting together on a special day for him: his 17th birthday. So, I scheduled a short pass to take him to dinner. I did not get a chance to speak to Raul before I came to pick him up, but when I got there, he was waiting in the lobby with the biggest smile I had ever seen on him. After signing all of the necessary paperwork, we headed to Goodtimes for dinner. He had never been there before. He surveyed the menu for about a minute, then ordered. As soon as he saw the food, he said that it was already way better than the food he was used to. Every bite we ate brought almost as much enjoyment and conversation out of him as the previous. We talked about all kinds of topics. I guided the conversation to his plans for school, graduation and his future. He told me that he had never had anyone ask him or had him think about his future plans before.
His eyes widened when I asked if he wanted dessert. Since then, I learned that desserts for him are rare. As we had dessert, our conversation went all over the proverbial map. We talked about everything from governments, to military, to taxes, to family, our past, girls, marriage and more. Looking back, I can see how that evening opened up a lot of doors between us. We have so much more material for conversational reference because of that night of celebration. Raul is doing great in his soon-to-be transition. He was voted Treasurer of his Student Government and has begun to attend High School outside of facility. He tells me that he has straight A's and expects to get his High School diploma in May. Our mentoring relationship is off to a great start and I really do believe that a lot of it has to do with his birthday celebration.
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