On Unfriendly Ogopogoes

Lindsey, my friend from school, invited me to volunteer at the pool/rec centre where she instructs. The program is for kids and teens who have problems of various kinds, mostly physical of behavioural. Today was my first day. Lindsey and I have a team of a few youngish girls. Some of them have quite troubled pasts, I'm told. I'm rather excited about the challenge. It's one of those things (like teaching in general) that is easy to do poorly. You can get by by just showing up and going through the motions. But really excelling, making a difference and connecting with kids, that's not easy at all. One of the girls is afraid of and mistrustful of men, for various reasons. So, hopefully I can make some progress with her by being, well, not manly (I knew my unmanliness would come in handy some day!). Apparently she hasn't bonded with any of the male volunteers or instructors to date. But how well versed were they in Highschool Musical? Did they really appreciate the finer points of Yu-Gi-Oh? My silly self is my best self. I hope it'll make some difference.