Yesterday evening, a group of us headed over to the local boys and girls chapter and put in some volunteer work. While I was there, I met a young boy named Darius who took it upon himself to sketch me. Needless to say, I was very touched by the gesture and saved every one of his pictures. I'd like to take a moment to share a few of my favorites:
"You're Mean":
After Darius drew this one, I asked him curiously, "who's that a picture of ?" Instead of simply telling me, he drew an arrow pointing from the paper to me. I cleverly tried to deflect the praise by switching seats with another volunteer, but persistent little Darius outsmarted me again by drawing a second arrow and clarifying to his teacher who the mean volunteer really was.
"Mike, You Are an Old Man":
I had to be honest with Darius so I told him the picture was truthfully not up to par with his previous work. He pleasantly surprised me when he drew in long curly hair and began calling me a girl in front of the other children. Darius, you've done it yet again.
"I Hate Everybody":
An early Darius piece. I thought he was talking about himself until he scowled and drew another arrow pointing at me. It's not every day that I give out an A++++++++++++++.
"Mike Is An Ugly Person":
Part one of the "Mike Is Ugly" series. Each set of the series is vastly different from the other, and paints a different story of the many ways in which I am unattractive.
"I am Ugly (Mike)":
The second of the "Mike is Ugly" series from Darius. I used to think this tortured artist simply believed that everyone was ugly until his next piece proved me wrong.
"You're Ugly, Mike":
I commented to Darius, "hey, that guy on the left doesn't look ugly, does he?" To which he responded, "that's because it's me. You're the only ugly one, ugly." Of course! The one on the left is not ugly because I am the only one Darius finds hideous! It was all making sense! I felt as though I could peer into this little child's soul through the window of his art.
"Old Mike Did It, Not Me":
I think the volunteer coordinator was getting a little peeved that Darius was focusing all of his energy on me. After about an hour of dirty looks from her, I decided that maybe it would help the situation if Darius tried sketching someone else. However when I asked him to try, he told me to "shut up." It's true what they say, never tamper with a fickle artist! I did my best to draw a Darius-esque picture of my teammate, Arie. However, when he saw it, Darius promptly ripped away the paper and added his own personal touches. Then he punched me in the arm. Hard.
At the end of the day, I came home with the pictures in my bag and thought to myself, this is what volunteering is truly about. Until next post, this is an ugly, hateful, old man signing off!