Hope and I had a great visit today. I'm becoming braver in asking her questions about her future and she never hesitates to respond. She'll be leaving in another few months, unaware of what type of foster situation she'll be living in. I imagine that must be very scary, so I decided we need to start discussing various options (not that it's her choice, but just preparing her for whatever happens).  She's starts 9th grade on Monday, so I explained credits to her and how important her high school education is. I told her that she is so much stronger than other girls her age because she's been forced into it. But I also said that her strength will work to her benefit because she'll be able to handle many different situations. I'm not really sure that's true, but she needs confidence at this point.

Then I met with Derricka, the girl I'll be tutoring in math. She's 17 and studying for her GED. We were actually supposed to start today, but I decided we should just visit and get to know one another first. I liked her a lot and look forward to our work together.