There are a lot of places I have spent time with my Littles over the years.
Parks. Bowling alleys. Restaurants. Car shows. Community events. Amusement parks. Plenty of hours in the car just talking about whatever happened to be on our minds that day.
A television studio was a little different.
On December 11, 2023, Little E and I had the opportunity to join FOX 13’s Laura Moody for a Motivation Monday segment and talk about our experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters.
It was one of those moments when something that normally happens quietly between a Big and a Little suddenly had a much bigger audience.
That may sound like a strange thing to say in a story about appearing on television, but it is true.
Being a Big is not about television interviews, awards or special events.
It is about showing up.
It is about becoming a consistent adult in a young person’s life. Somebody who listens, asks questions, offers some guidance, celebrates the wins and helps work through the days that do not go quite as planned.
Most of that happens one conversation at a time.
But every once in a while, an opportunity like FOX 13 comes along and gives us the chance to talk about why those ordinary moments matter.
Why I wanted Little E beside me
I could have talked all day about what I think mentorship means. But a Big Brothers Big Sisters match is not one person’s story.
It belongs to both people in the match.
Having Little E there mattered because people could see the relationship for themselves. Not a professional spokesperson explaining a program, but a Big and a Little sitting together and sharing a piece of the experience.
One of the things I have learned through mentoring is that adults sometimes make it sound much more complicated than it needs to be.
You do not need to have an extraordinary life to become a Big.
You do not need all the answers.
You do not need to know exactly what you are going to say every time your Little asks a difficult question.
You need to care enough to keep showing up.
Over time, consistency becomes trust.
Trust opens the door to conversations.
Conversations create opportunities to encourage, guide and sometimes challenge a young person.
And somewhere in all of that, a relationship forms that can have an impact on both of you.
Looking back at this video now, that is probably what means the most to me.
It captures a moment fairly early in my match with Little E.
At the time, we were simply talking about what being matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters meant to us.
Since then, there have been a lot more adventures, a lot more conversations, some challenges, plenty of laughs and a whole collection of memories that did not exist yet when we sat down with Laura Moody that morning.
That is the beauty of mentoring.
You rarely know which moments are going to matter most while you are living them.
You just keep showing up.
And years later, you can look back and see just how much ground the two of you have covered.
What is Big Brothers Big Sisters?
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring organization that matches caring adult volunteers, called “Bigs,” with young people, or “Littles,” to build supportive one-to-one relationships that can help kids grow in confidence, character and opportunity. If you’d like to learn more about becoming a Big, supporting the program, or getting a young person involved, visit GoBigTampaBay.org.