Sebastien admits that he didn’t know what to expect when he first found out he was getting a Big Brother. “I was a little confused at first, but then I decided to roll with it and I’m really happy I did”. “I really appreciate how Tom is down to earth and levelheaded. That makes it easier to share things with him. It’s cool that he can view situations from outside of the box, while still viewing things from my eyes”.
I really appreciate the wisdom that Tom offers me from his experience. I’ve never experienced that from anyone else until I met Tom. Other adults in my life will tell me what to do all the time, without ever explaining why. A huge difference between other adults and Tom is that they just talk at me and Tom talks with me. I really like how he explains his advice to me and shares experiences so I can understand better.
Tom has taught me a lot of things. He helped me learn how to keep myself calm so I can better evaluate situations. He also helped me realize is that it’s important to apply myself to things. This helped me when I was struggling with some of my grades. What’s cool is that Tom can view situations from outside of the box, while still viewing things from my eyes. One of the things I appreciate most about Tom is that I feel like he sees my higher self.
Friendship is at the core of my mentoring relationship with Sebastien. I think it is so important to establish that level of trust and friendship first. Our friendship as created a comfort level that allows him to communicate with me because he knows I am someone he can confide in. One of the things I’ve tried to instill in Sebastien is self-awareness and realizing the appropriate time and place for things. I’ve explained why it’s important to be mindful of his setting and how that dictates what is appropriate in terms of how he carries himself. The most important thing I do during my time with Sebastien is to listen him. It’s impossible to offer that guidance or advice without truly listening. Having Sebastien in my life offers me insight into a young person’s world, that I otherwise would not have. I truly enjoy that aspect of our relationship and find it refreshing to learn about new things from him. I’ve enjoyed seeing how things have evolved in his life. When we were first matched, he was 10 years old and now he’s getting ready to enter high school.
