In 2020, I become a mentor on Ustrive, a platform through which I could connect with high school students and help them with their college applications and future college life. In this post, I will discuss why I became a mentor and what I try to achieve in becoming a mentor. (Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay)
Why now?
When is the best time to become a mentor? If someone asks me this question in the past, I would say wait until I am REALLY successful. Once I am at the top of my world, I can share all the success stories and inspire others.
I was wrong. There is never a better time to start than starting right now! It is like making charitable donations. I don’t have to make a donation only after I become a millionaire. If I can help others now, I should start now!
Make a difference
I always strive to make a good impact on the people around me, whether I am at work or at home. I want to do the same to the community I live in as well.
By joining the Ustrive mentorship program, I can help high school students and college students to get through arguably their most important part of their life. I had a lot of lessons going through this period and I want to share my experience so that my mentees can learn from my experience and don’t make the same mistake as I did.
I hope with my help, they can live happier, think smarter, and become better prepared for future challenges.
Accept the challenges
If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly
G.K. Chesterton
Being a mentor is not easy. I am a rookie in the mentoring world, but I am willing to accept the challenges. If I want to become a good mentor, I first need to be a not-so-good mentor first.
I just had the first two sessions with my mentee. It was a fascinating experience. On the other hand, I was definitely nervous and sometimes felt awkward. I have been keeping notes on how I can do better the next time. It will only get better!
I really appreciate my mentee for participating in this mentorship program with me. It has been a fun journey together and navigating all the exciting milestones. We both had learned a lot from each other! I hope our relationship can better even better over time!
Helping Others is Helping Oneself
By Mentoring others, I also get to help myself and become better. I get to practice many skills that are crucial in life. By just talking to the mentee every week, I can become a better communicator. In every session, I can practice becoming a better listener as I hear my mentee’s struggles and feel their stress. Moreover, I can develop my emotional intelligence as I train my empathy and try to understand my mentee’s difficult situation.
By changing someone’s life, I hope I can change my life as well. What an amazing side effect.
I have been enjoying being a mentor, I will keep doing it and get better! I will share more on this next time!
UPDATE: My mentee and I have been meeting every week for the past 4 months now. Together we developed a good checklist and outlined a timeline for the collection application prep. I shared some of the experiences I went through during my high school years, and some strategies I implemented for exams and college applications. I am really happy that my mentee is able to find his focus and has accomplished so much to be better prepared for college. I cannot wait to see some early results of his hard work.
Originally published at https://timwellsaid.com on January 10, 2021.