I have been a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana employee for a little over a year now, and it took me almost the entire year, plus all of those years I thought about it before I began working for BBBSCI, to take the step to become a Big. I thought I had heard most of the stories and I thought I was completely prepared. Well, when I finally made the decision to become a Big, everything went as expected and nothing went as expected. You should know that before I became a Big, I knew I wanted a partner to share in the challenges and accomplishments that would arrive while serving as a mentor. My wife respectively declined my invitation to become a Big Couple so, when BBBSCI expanded their program options to include Big Friends, I reached out to a longtime friend, Wayne, and asked him to join me in the adventure.
Wayne and I were interviewed together, we completed our Mentor 101 Training together, and soon, we were presented with a Little. What did not go as expected, were my feelings of nervousness and trepidation. Wayne and I were both very excited, however, as the date of our official match introduction approached, my insecurities and doubts began to surface. Would we be able to connect with Ethan? Will his mom like us? Will we get along with his family? Will we have fun together? As Wayne and I pulled up to Ethan’s house on the day of our match introduction, I couldn’t help but think that all of my questions were a bad sign.
It only took five minutes within meeting our Little Brother, Ethan, and his mom, to realize that my anxiety wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, my anxiety made me realize that I cared about being a good Big Brother. And, you know what? All of my fears proved unfounded. It’s only been a month and a half since our first outing, but Wayne and I have really enjoyed getting to know Ethan and being his Big Friends. Ethan is smart, witty, and fun, and his mom and the rest of his family are pretty amazing too. We’ve been getting together about once every other week and I was finally able to make him laugh! It only took making myself nearly sick going on rides with him at BBBSCI’s SummerFest celebration at the Marion County Fair.
ABOUT BRYAN
Bryan is the Director of Development for BBBSCI. When he’s not fundraising for Big Brothers Big Sisters, or spending time with his Little Brother, Bryan serves as the Vice President and Immediate Past President of Giving Sum, an Indianapolis based giving circle. When not volunteering, Bryan is a fierce competitor in his bocce ball and curling leagues. Bryan grew up in Kansas City and attended Wabash College. After graduating from Wabash College in 2006, he moved to Indianapolis, where he met his wife, Ashleigh. Bryan and Ashleigh reside in Broad Ripple and love exploring Indianapolis.