So It Begins.

Back in college I was involved in a non-profit organization called Project Literacy, or Prolit if you were cool enough to combine two words into one. We were one of the largest student nonprofit organizations on the UCLA campus. We once had so many tutors that we had to charter buses to take them to site (where we met the kids). Eventually those buses bankrupted us and we were reprimanded by the school. So yeah, you may have heard of us.

Anyway, I loved all my kids and knew them all by name as well as familial relation ("That is Sarah and over there is Sarah's younger sister Carol, and that boy is Manny who is Carol's half-brother and not biologically related to Sarah, who only lives with them on the weekends."), which was reassuring because I knew I could always fall back on a career as a kindergartner teacher.

Today I went back to visit site, where I still knew a few of the volunteers. I hadn't gone back many times since I graduated, at first because I was busy and then because I figured the kids forgot about me and it would be awkward to return and try to create some sort of reunion ("Remember me? I taught you about prepositions! Remember prepositions?")

What changed my mind was that a few weeks ago I got a call from the cell phone of a friend who was still volunteering at site. A dozen little and mostly incomprehensible voices got on the line, but the gist of it was that they would like me to come visit them please, and can that happen soon.

So I went. And it was priceless. Little hugs and chubby faces and conversations like this:

My Brief but Enlightening Conversation with Steven, My Favorite 11 year-old in the World

Me: "So, you have a girlfriend now?"

Steven, nonchalantly leaning his portly little frame against a pole: "Yeah, I do."

Me: "What's her name?"

Steven: "Denise."

Me: "Aw, is she cute?"

Steven: "She has curly hair."

Me: "How long have you guys been together?"

Steven: "Since school started."

Me: "That's real nice."

Steven: "I might think about breaking up with her though."

Me: "What?? Why?"

Steven: "I don't know, I might wait until fifth grade is over."

Me: "You shouldn't play with girls' hearts like that, buddy. Are you nice to her?"

Steven: "No. I'm not nice to nobody."

Me: "Not even your girlfriend? Do you give her presents?"

Steven: "Yes."

Me: "Like what?"

Steven: "Hugs and candy."

Me: "Jeez, the men in your family must be popular (he has four brothers)."

Steven: "Yeah."

Me: "Who's the most popular?"

Steven: "Paco [his oldest brother, a 17 year old]. Paco had more than twenty girlfriends!"

Me: "Wow, that is a lot."

Steven: "Yeah, he had so many he doesn't even remember their names. Maybe he remembers three."