I got matched with a new little sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters. She’s going away for the summer, but just before that, I got invited to her Quinceañera! This is a Latin custom where the coming of age of a girl at 15 years old is celebrated as a rite of passage to becoming a young woman.
Sophia arrived with her entourage on a horse-drawn carriage. Wow! We’ve only been matched for a few days at this point and didn’t know anyone there. But we all came outside to watch the arrival, and I stood with her younger sister.
Then Sophia made the big entrance and walked all the way around the room and down the aisles to the front with everyone happily cheering on her. There was lots of family there and also some friends from school.
There was a part of the ceremony where her dad took off her old shoes (the child’s shoes) and replaced them with her lovely new young lady shoes.
Then afterward, she had her first dance with her dad then her mom, and then the music just kept going and basically everybody who was there in support of her danced with her for a little while. I am sure her feet must have really hurt! That was a lot of dancing.
The decorations and cake were really really nice. Her mom and family truly went all out.
