Back in 1998 when I was the Program Director for a HIV prevention program called Woman to Woman, I needed another assistant. The program was growing so I began a search. A co-worker spoke with a friend about her daughter needing a gig. I told him to have her call me. Understand, nonprofits can be lazy in their hiring practices. It costs too much to advertise so, its about the hook up. So, she called. You could see her smile through the phone. She was hyped. She had no idea what was in store for her with W2W...lol.
She shows up with braces, long ass hair, almost to her booty and this GRIN. This was Rashida, at 19. I was 29 at the time. Rashida was willing to do whatever we asked and she did it with a smile. She loved working in HIV (she'd probably say something differently now) and she LOVED our participants. I remember giving her two projects: 1) develop our outreach packets, 2) learn how to put a condom on with your mouth. LOL..... I think the latter was our bonding moment. I made her sit in my office and practice until she knew how to do it. Why? That's for another blog but let's just say us W2W staff knew all the tricks so we could be effective educators.
From that moment, Rashida was growing to be a good friend soon becoming my sister. Me and this chick have been through AT LOT together. From jobs, boyfriend stuff, money, cars, kids...whatever, me and Rashida have been through it. We give tough love when needed and we just want the best for it other. Rashida isn't gonna "yes" me. If I'm full of shit, she'll tell me. I LOVE honest people and she is all about being 100% Rashida and being real. I think the funniest thing about me and Rashida is that we speak each others language. Just today, I walked to her desk and started dancin' really hard, she just turned around and started dancing with me as we were talking. LOVE HER.
I can see how I've had some influence on her and she's definitely had a major influence on me. I'm so blessed to have her as my little sister.
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