Finding a Mentor and Getting to Work

When I was in Elementary school, I used to look up to my oldest brother quite a bit. He taught me the French alphabet when I was still in the first grade, got me ahead in mathematics, and taught me how to understand how to play games like chess. This has been something that has stuck with me since I've learned those things. There were many other things that he didn't teach me directly that I still learned by watching what he did. Though we don't talk much anymore, I still run through moments where he was teaching me sometimes and reminisce.

For a while, my dad also gave me instruction when I would ask questions and when he felt like there was something that I needed to know. It took me a while, especially while I was younger, to find the scope of these lessons, but as I've grown older they've come up more.

When I got to college, it was much harder finding a mentor. At my school, they assign you an adviser, but you want to find something that fits your niche. It took me a while to find someone else that I looked up to and someone that I could talk to about what really interests me. Once he began teaching, I haven't stopped learning. Each day there are more things that I can do to help me prepare for my future. Each of those things, in my mind, have purpose and meaning, and when I have questions, I know where I can go. Those are probably the hardest things about finding a good mentor, in my mind at least.

As I see it, the importance of having a mentor stretches beyond learning, it's a methodology of building character. There are books and methods of learning that are available to each of use, but the personality behind the material isn't something that we are just able to invent, it needs to be filled. Some people have the ability to have long conversations with themselves that can be quite involved; but many of us need some to bounce ideas off of, someone that can foster our thoughts and teach us how to refine them.

In my opinion, traits of a good mentor include:

• Thought-provoking
• Understanding
• Tactful
• Relate-able
• Willing to teach
• Honest

You can't have a mentor that is going to treat you like a child, you need someone who is going to refine you until they can do no more for you. Sometimes they can be around for most of your life; always teaching and training when you have questions. They can also be someone that will only be an example for a moment, helping you to open your eyes and have you look to their actions to help you find your own. The overall purpose, though, is to find yourself. Find someone that can help you unlock your potential. One day, someone might come to you to do the same.