One of the hardest things about doing something new that has tricks and turns, stumbling blocks and stop signs…is exactly that…it’s something new with tricks and turns…stumbling blocks and stop signs. Junior and senior year were hectic. Sometimes I felt that I was getting to know myself better on paper than in person. Essay after essay, cover letters and resumes, applications and recommendations…all became every day components of my life. However, so did a few special people—a few adults and leaders that I came to consider mentors.
I don’t think there is a special formula for someone who can be a mentor; no set criteria or educational background requirement. Still, they tend to be very special individuals, capable of guiding you along your path and setting stones of future opportunities before your feet. I didn’t have very many, but those that I did have were more than enough, remaining with me even now. They provided security and motivation when I was lost and “at my end”. Oftentimes, my mentors saw potential in me that I was unable to see, pushing me past limiting boundaries onto brighter possibilities.
I believe that those who have traveled a similar path before you are able to offer advice that we have yet to know that we need. That wisdom is priceless, immeasurable in quality and value. Looking back, I remember and appreciate the help they provided. Looking forward, I want to serve as a mentor on my college campus and within my future communities. The most amazing thing about my mentors was not that they were superiorly perfect human beings or that they’d changed the world with sterling accomplishments. Instead, they were people, just as I am, capable of embracing their mistakes and passing on their wisdom. They were willing to change my world, and in doing so…enable me to begin a path of helping others change their own.
~Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.~John Crosby