My teachers were my first mentors. They supported me where my parents didn’t and couldn’t.
I would not be where I am today if it hadn’t been for the involvement of my teachers. I know most people don’t have teachers who are as involved with their students as the teachers I had in Mendocino.
One of the greatest lessons I learned from the experience was I could challenge anything and change what I didn’t like. Imagine what a great lesson that was for a 15 year old. It became a fundamental method I implemented for the rest of my life.
Any time I would decide I needed to change something in my life I would think back to how I felt when I accomplished going from a C average student to graduating with a 3.8 and scoring more than 1400 on my SAT tests.
The sense of accomplishment I felt carried me through many difficult decisions throughout my life. I discovered how to problem solve and how to get creative and ask for help along the way.
I believe that asking for help is one of the easiest ways to learn from others who have more experience and more resources than I had. I’ve had many mentors who were always able to guide me to do more than I ever thought I was capable of on my own.
If you take the time to be a mentor to someone, your rewards will be beyond your imagination.