"I don't need incentive."

I'm absolutely beaming with pride.

As I mentioned in a few previous posts, I'm a mentor for a sophomore high school girl.  Tonight we celebrated her hard work in school and impressive first semester GPA with a pizza dinner. 

As we were sitting at the table with our case manager and a few other mentors and mentees, we casually chatted about how the job interview went that she today had after school.  She described being a bit nervous, but it helped that she was interviewed by a peer.  She also mentioned that the organization offers a higher wage for students with good grades. 

My initial response was, "Wow!  What great incentive to work hard in school and get good grades."
Her blunt and realistic reciprocation:  "I don't need incentive."

I can't really describe how "wise-beyond-her-years" that sounded to me.  This fifteen-year-old is confident and driven, and knows what she wants for her future.  To her, getting good grades and working hard is simply not an option.  It's just what needs to be done.

To say that I'm impressed would truly be an understatement.

-DTL

To Juanita:
(Keep it up, girl...and the higher wage will be yours, throughout your remaining years of high school and beyond!)