Bon Air Week 3- Russell

I was not excited to go to Bon Air this week. I had been swamped with homework and the idea of leaving my desk for a few hours was not on my to do list for the day. I had a meeting later that evening that I knew would be cutting it close on time with Bon Air. With that being said, I was definitely cranky on the bus ride over. When we arrived, the boys were at dinner making me even more anxious to get out there thinking I would miss my meeting. Yet, when we arrived, Trenton was in a surprisingly good mood. He was super excited to start telling me about his week before I even sat down. He actually made me smile and it turned my attitude around. Eric did not come to this meeting which immediately made me think it had to do with the little argument he had with Trenton the last week.

When we sat down, Crystal and I both were in a group with Trenton. As we talked about our best days, I learned a lot about Trenton’s home life. His mother and father are no longer together. He has a poor relationship with his father, which, after talking to Luke, seems to be a theme with the residents. With his father being absent, Trenton has assumed the role of the figurehead in his household. He told the best day of his life as a time with his grandfather who taught him how to hunt. Yet, after listening to the story, it seemed that Trenton looked up to his grandfather for pointers on how to run the household. He was a mentor on how to replace his absent father. It made me see Trenton in a new light, as a responsible young man who is incredibly sincere. He talked about how he needs to go home to help his mother with the kids again. He thinks far beyond himself.

Our conversation beyond the prompt was surprisingly fluid. It seemed like I was talking to a friend, not a forced conversation. It was one of the first times that we had a conversation beyond drugs and alcohol. It was nice to see him break down some of his walls. It seemed like he actually enjoyed it as well. On the bus ride home, Professor Dolson and I talked about how we imagine the residents’ conversations probably revolve around crimes. It seemed that it was nice for Trenton to have an outlet for a true conversation beyond this. This was the first time that I left feeling like I made a significant difference in his life. That felt pretty good.