By Abe Villarreal

January is National Mentoring Month. This is the second of four articles recognizing the importance of mentoring.

Many of us think of the youth in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program as troubled, bad kids with behavioral problems. That's not true of Anthony, my Little, nor most other youth in the program.

Anthony is a first-grade student at Sixth Street Elementary in Silver City. Like most kids his age, he is full of energy, spends hours playing video games, and gets restless at movie theaters about two-thirds into a full-length motion picture.

He also hasn't missed a day of school this year. He has earned all A's this semester. He has made his mom proud. Still, Anthony is in the program because he needs a Big Brother and I'm glad that we connected.

Anthony is awesome and makes being a Big Brother a worthwhile experience. He's shown me that stepping out of my comfort zone is a good thing and that taking a risk in life often is followed by the biggest kind of reward.

I never thought that I was qualified to be a Big Brother, at least not one to a stranger. But what qualifies you to be a Big or Little? The ability to love and show compassion. We all have that in our very nature. We can all be a shoulder to lean on or a hand to catch a ball. Every one of us can provide a sense of comfort when needed, or a hearty laugh at a knock-knock joke.

You won't find these virtues on a r+