Have you ever been sooo busy that you couldn't remember how a certain period of your life passed by? I honestly cannot remember what I did this weekend. Hmmm I remember it raining a lot and me haaaating the rain. Oh yeah there was also gift shopping for Holiday presents for my brother and sister's teachers and my dad's work friend's and my sister's school friends. There was me working. And I remember I watched Planet 51 [GREAT movie] and Everybody's Fine.But I can't really remember details. I know I've been really tired and I have no clue why. Trying to wake up early is not working and time keeps passing me by which gets me nervous.
I have to create some kind of amazing cover letter in the next few weeks, fill out an application and bug 3 professors for more recs. I know one professor I'm asking (who has already agreed to write any recs I want whenever I need them). Another one I think would be good for this particular app I need it for, but he has a tendency to be unreliable, so I need to ask him about it soon and give him plenty of time. And the 3rd person, hmm I need to figure that out. Choosing people for particular kinds of recs is a very strategic business. I guess I have until school starts back up again because it is futile to try and ask someone to write me a rec at this point and completely wrong to even ask since it's the holidays.
Think on this: Have you ever had a mentee or a mentor? I have never had a mentor, but plenty of mentees. And I really think that people are correct in saying the mentor has a huge effect on the mentee, but in my experience the mentee has a huge effect on the mentor as well. My mentee has actually maintained his relationship with me even after I've graduated and am no longer on campus. This is much more than I expected. We used to meet at least once a semester so I can see how things were going and make sure he was on track with classes. Instead of a meeting at Cox or Wodruff we chat on the phone for a bit and I send a check-up text every so often. This is something I wanted, but I have had mentees that just didn't care enough. They didn't understand that their mentor really cared about them and that maintaining that contact over time is healthy for both. Just the keeping in touch and the simple "Thank you" or "hey how are you?" I get every so often is wonderful.
If you have a mentee, take the time to tell them or show them that you appreciate them and mentees do the same for your mentor. As much as I have helped my mentee he has helped me. He helped me through a really tough decision making process this past summer and extended a helping hand which I accepted with gratitude. (Wait what? the mentee helped the mentor with a decision? YES). For that I am forever grateful. I wish I could have spent more time with him, been closer to him, etc. But hey everything doesn't work out exactly the way you want it to. I just hope that this bond is one I can maintain. As much as I would love to strengthen it even further I will not push my luck and only hope it stays as strong as it is. Whatever kind of influence I have had on my mentee I hope it has been a strong and positive one that I can keep over time. He certainly has made me a better person and is always pushing me to keep pursuing my dreams. Each of us has our own set of obstacles. I help him maneuver around his by using my experience and trying to ensure he does not make the same mistakes I have made. He helps me maintain my sanity and tries to help me keep my cool by showing that he believes in me and my abilities and sliping in a word or two of motivation when I feel like quitting.
For as much as I motivate him, help him....he does the same to me. As a symbiotic relationship, I would classify it as mutualism. A happy mutualistic relationship.
My mentee is my friend. I <3 my mentee!
Thank you :)
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