For my BBBS program, there were few questions concerning mentorships.

Whenever I get this line of questioning, I mention my uncle and my father, both for their commitments to my education and my independence. I have come to realize with every passing day and encounter with a girl, how incredibly privileged I was that the men in my family, the ones holding power and authority, have encourage my erudite pursuits and my desire for independence. I have realized how much could have gone wrong or wouldn't have been encouraged in so many instances. For that, I'm grateful, I'm privileged and will always mention them fondly in such aspects.

But when we were getting into some in-depth questioning, I was reflecting on something Seneca said in the lines of "We don’t get to choose our parents, but we can truly choose whose children
we’d like to be.”

And in that aspect, other parental figures show up, mentors to be clear and articulate and honest.

I came to realize early on how much of Hirasawa's child I am on the artistic scale, mental one and other levels I fail to recognize or ignore yet.

As I revisit my formative years, I see the marks of mentorship of others too to varying degrees, and perhaps the greatest common denominator between all of them is that they have no idea how much they have impacted my life, my mind, my soul, my dreams, my aspirations. I doubt they were expecting for their reach to go this far and be this deep, I don't know if they would believe it, in their graves or in other spaces and within the minds where they exist. I doubt any of it. They are like warriors of dawn's dewdrops, reminiscent of a night whose tale is folded within its darkness and fated to disappear with the rays of an assertive sun, their existence only suspected through the life they brought, spared and sublimated during the few moments they shared with the landscape.

My coordinator insists that I will be a mentor and a great guide and an amazing addition to my Little's life and... and... and... I find it all overwhelming, too much to ask from me and the kid. If I get to be an insignificant presence like those dawn dewdrops warrior, I'd be more than happy and most likely unaware of it anyway.

So for now, whenever they want me to explain what I want to be for the kid, whether her family or the other staff member, I jokingly said "a butler". She has the most saying on how she wants our time to go, and I follow and structure where she leads. I think that's the next best thing maybe?