Another Close

For three years I have worked in a mentoring program on our college campus. It has pushed me and changed me and I have grown more than I could have ever imagined.

As I finish this job and leave this phase of my life, I reflected on some of the ways I've changed and the things I've learned. So here's a peek inside my thoughts (with a random collection of my sister's pictures).

Mentoring is about the individual. It’s about getting down in the dirt and letting your barriers fall down. It’s about not being afraid to open up and realize that you don’t know everything. It’s about the mentor that’s right there beside you, supporting you, guiding you, and helping you through every step.

Mentoring is about knowing. Knowing who you are, knowing who your mentee is, and knowing who your mentor is.  It is knowing that no matter how much you invest, how much you give, the mentee can still turn it down. It is knowing that even if they do turn it down, it’s alright, because you gave it your best.

 Mentoring is realizing that you can’t stop being a mentor. You can’t turn it off and you can’t mentally clock out at the end of the day. Mentoring is a part of you. Mentoring is about becoming. About growing and developing right with your mentees. Mentoring is not just a job, but who you are.

Mentoring is a struggle. A struggle between wanting to give everything to your mentee, but instead balancing it between school, your calling, and everything else in your life.

 Mentoring is who I am. It’s taking the time to understand the individuals around you. Mentoring is understanding that there are always things to learn from those around you.

Mentoring makes a difference. It changes you as you mentor and it changes you as you are mentored. Mentoring is the impact in an individual’s life that can set them on a completely different path - a path for the better.

And though I’ll leave the office behind, I’ll never leave what I’ve learned. I have grown and changed and become a completely different person. I didn’t realize it when I stepped in for my interview, but mentoring has changed me. I have become a mentor.

All photos credit to Alli