An Author in the Making

Meet my friend, Anthony.  This is Anthony's second year with me as a part of Graffiti 2 Kids.  He has grown so much in the past year.  As a fifth grader, he has shown a new level of maturity when it comes to leadership.  He is currently working with two second graders as a part of our Junior Intern program.  He takes his job very seriously! He is patient and encouraging.  It has been fun to see him think through the best way to help his students.  Today however, I saw a different light come on in his eyes.  He asked permission to work on his own homework as his students were both on track and did not require help at them moment.  I was happy to see him take initiative in using his time wisely.  He began to research and write an essay on Martin Luther King Jr.  He wrote four sentences then asked me to help him read over it and make corrections.  He said he needed at least four more sentences, but would like to aim for six more sentences.  We sat together and read through his article and discussed interesting facts he might be able to include in his essay.  He continued to work and we did a final edit.  The look of pride on his face made my heart soar.  He could not wait to show others his work.  I pulled up several scholarship essay contests and explained that he was an excellent writer and that if he continued to develop his writing skills, when the time came, his writing would be able to compete with the best of them!  He asked if we could have a writing contest for G2 kids.  Next week, we will have our very first G2 Kids essay writing contest!