SamuraiKatz

I really do not have much of a problem sharing my experience. I apologize if it is not very riveting. I don't tell stories well in walls of text but here we go:

I remember I was being told I had to do service work for some reason when I was in college (Private Catholic College probs... I'm not even religious, they just gave me a crap ton in scholarships). Don't remember why, but I did. Like most college kids I was groaning and wondering why I had to do this. During the time, I not only was triple majoring, but also working graveyard shifts for security to help pay for school.

Anyway, there was a booth for BBBS there at the thing where they were show casing all the different service sites. They told me it would be a much longer commitment than what was required, but I thought to myself why not! So I did the whole process of getting background checked, and I did the training, which as you stated was not all that bad.

I remember they were very appreciative because they were short on males and needed Big Brothers. I got a Little Brother, and he was the sweetest and nicest kid, but was very full of energy. He was always enthusiastic about seeing me and doing whatever we had planned. His favorite super hero was Batman, which is also mine, and we got off to a great start.

Some days, when class had really kicked my ass, social life was not going well (went through a tough break up), and work just left me feeling drained, even on days where I was thinking "man I cannot deal with my Little and his energy today," I would muster up the will to and ended up feeling 100 times better, reenergized and motivated.

Anyway, it got to the point where I would find out sometimes he would get in trouble at school sometimes (mainly just for acting out due to his high energy) and eventually learned details of his personal life like living in a single parent home and how he did not really have a positive male role model for him, but I will never forget when I was talking to his mother one time and she told me I was such a positive influence on his life, and she was happy to see him have a positive male to look up to and aspire to be like and for him to hang out with.

I did this for awhile, but then I eventually got too busy to keep doing it, I wanted to have someone who could commit the time to it. One of my favorite stories to tell people was the time we were doing some sort of crafts activity together and my Little took scissors to my hair. I wasn't upset about it at all and found it to be hilarious. It became an inside joke between us that he was never allowed scissors again.

What I never realized at the time until later was the positive influence not only had on my Little, but also on ME. I learned a lot about patience and the how you can impact someone's life. How every little thing matters. I learned to face each day with the same energy and positiveness as my Little did.

It was very nice, because I had friends (some who were a part of the program when I did it too!) who were student teaching at his school and had him in class and would update me as to how he was doing. They always told me he was still the sweetest and most enthusiastic kid they had known. And now, as my girlfriend is looking for PR work, she found an opening with BBBS in my area, and I told her she should go for it.

Again, if you are considering doing BBBS, just do it. The impact that not only you can have on someone's life, but also your own, even though not overt right away, stays with you and them forever, and it is something you can never take away.

Sorry that post got long. I hope you enjoy reading about my experience with the program and again /u/bigbrothersrule and anyone else who is a Big, thank you for doing this. Seeing this AMA means a ton to me.

I was a Big Brother for awhile. One of the most rewarding experiences ever. You really do have a huge impact on these children's lives, so it is very much worth doing. Thank you for doing what you do man!