Raven, my little sis

I mentor a young woman who is a senior at my kids school ( my kids go to a really cool K-12 school, FAIR Downtown School), her name is Raven. She calls me her big sista, and I don't think she is referring to my rather large back side. :) I have been working with her for 4 years, since she was a freshman.

Raven has had her ups and downs, and does not have a lot of support in her personal life. I won't go into details. But I truly love this young woman. She is amazing, and she has come through a lot in life and has had to deal with a lot on her own. She has always struggled in school, not because she doesn't have the brain capacity or anything, she is really smart. She has just never had the support, someone telling her to get her stuff done, someone telling her to get to bed, etc.

But, this year, she is kicking butt! I am so proud of her. The two first quarters, she passed all her classes, she has not done that since I have known her. And she passed them with good grades, not D's, which is not an acceptable grade in my book (right Raven!?). She has grown and matured and is doing so much better. I am so proud of her. Did I say that yet?

Raven came over today and relaxed Akila's hair and styled it for me, and Akila is in heaven. I'm a little worried she won't sleep tonight. I took a few pictures of Akila and Raven and I want to post them here. I have high hopes for Raven. She is a beautiful, intelligent young woman who can go far in this world. She just needs to accept this, believe in herself, and keep working hard. And not settle for the life she has always known, but focus on the life that she wants.





I also had to add a couple of pictures of the other 3 kids. One they are all doing homework in, the next they are doing chores together. Good stuff.