Growing up, Brianna was the youngest sibling with four older brothers. She didn’t have a lot of women or other girls to go to for advice. She signed up to be a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters because she thinks she could have benefited from having a Big Sister when she was a child, and wanted to give that opportunity to a young person.
Brianna was matched with her Little Sister, Malayah, over a year ago. She describes Malayah as super smart, kind, sweet, thoughtful, and mature. She has impressive critical thinking skills and is always asking questions and learning.
Brianna was surprised at how much Malayah reminded her of herself when she was younger. Both are shy and anxious but want to go out and do fun things. Because of their similarities, they’ve become very comfortable with each other and feel safe opening up about what’s going on in their lives.
Malayah loves when she and Brianna go to the mall together, paint their nails, and do arts and crafts. But the outing that stood out most for her was a visit to the Oregon Donkey Sanctuary.
Brianna really enjoyed taking Malayah to an Oregon Ducks football game last fall. It was the first time they had spent the entire day together, and Brianna said it just felt easy hanging out with Malayah.
The most important part of their friendship, however, is not the outings they go on. Malayah appreciates having someone to talk to, someone to let things out with.
“She really listens to me when I talk to her,” Malayah shared.
When they’re together, Brianna always makes sure to give Malayah her full attention and time. She’s also opened up to Malayah about her own anxiety and reassures her that what she feels is normal.
Malayah describes Brianna as a nice, joyful person who’s up to do anything.
“Every time I have a sad day, I think about her and it makes me happy because I really like spending time with her,” Malayah said.
Brianna said that being a Big Sister is extremely rewarding. When she signed up, she had a goal to start incorporating more things into her life that make her happy. Now, every outing with Malayah is a guaranteed joyful event!
While you do have to commit and take being a mentor seriously, Brianna says it doesn’t take as much time as you think.
“It can be going out for ice cream and talking about school, it doesn’t have to take a lot of time,” she said.
It doesn’t have to cost much money, either. Brianna and Malayah have taken advantage of several free activities organized by Big Brothers Big Sisters, and they’ve received free tickets to Hopscotch, Trail Blazers games, Oaks Park, and several other fun opportunities.
Brianna looks forward to building her relationship with Malayah as she gets older. She hopes to be a support for her during her teenage years and beyond.
If you want to make a difference in the life of a child like Malayah, visit https://itsbigtime.org/become-a-big to learn more and sign up to become a Big.
