This post was originally published on LinkedIn.

In the non-profit world, you’re taught that being in a position of a facilitator or community leader means that everyone (and their mothers) will trust you in what seems like record time. This is simply not true.

There is a young girl in my program called the Village Bloggurls (VBG), a mentorship and media literacy program for young girls. Let's call her "J". On J's first day at the Village Bloggurls, she cried upon seeing me and the other girls in the program. She was flustered with her words, telling me over and over again she didn't want to be here and would rather be at home. I gave her some time to sit with her feelings, and she eventually decided to stay.