I didn’t really understand the concept of a mentor, and didn’t know that people had mentors until I read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, this summer. She wrote that, sometimes, individuals would just walk up to her and blatantly ask her to be their mentor. “No,” she would say. A mentor is not someone you ask to be your mentor; it’s someone who just is your mentor, who becomes your mentor. Until I understood the concept of mentors through Sandberg’s writing, I never realized I had mentors in my life or how much they’ve helped me.
In second grade, my teacher inspired me to learn. She taught us about Paris, France, and I became passionate about France and learning everything I could about it. I was obsessed with the Eiffel Tower and always begged my Mom to go to France so I could see the structure. I had her as my teacher again in 4th grade. She pushed me to learn, but in a way that I understood and appreciated, a way that was nice and constructive, exactly what I needed as a 4th grader.
Throughout elementary school, I played soccer. I always played soccer with the same coach and (more or less) the same girls. We would win most of our games because we had some pretty strong and tall girls on the team, but that was never our goal. Our coach taught us to have fun while playing soccer, a skill that I’ve noticed now, not a lot of people have. Many people are completely absorbed in the idea of success and winning, especially in sports, but my coach taught us to have fun on the soccer field (and in life), a lesson I still greatly value.
In high school, I met one of my most important mentors, one of my good friends (and peers). She is outgoing, friendly, happy, and appreciative. She says hello to strangers and makes them smile. She worked hard in school, and was incredibly artistic. I never heard her boast, she always knows how to compliment people in the way they would appreciate it the most, but is also the honest in her compliments. Her personality is one that I value highly and has inspired me to become more outgoing, honest, genuine, etc.
After my junior year in high school, I interned at in the marketing department at a relatively large, local company. I met various people in various departments, but most importantly, I met another mentor. I came into the internship very afraid…It was my first real job, and I really had no idea what I was doing. I had my own cubicle, and just by chance, it was right across from the CEO’s and the CEO’s assistant’s cubicle. The CEO’s assistant was not just his assistant, though. She had been the “assistant” to the last 3 CEOs, and knew the ins-and-outs of the company better than anyone. She was my mentor. Not only did I know I could go to her if I had any questions about ANYTHING within the company, but she also mentored my other passions. She found out early on that I enjoyed cooking, and would bring in her favorite recipes for me to try. She would regularly check up on me and ask me how I was doing. When I visit the company now, she always asks about everything that’s going on in my life, how school is going, etc. She taught me, most of all, though, that you don’t have to lead a company from the top. Although her title gives her little power, any one who’s ever seen her work, know how influential she is, and how much she cares about the people working around her at the company. She taught me that you can be a leader, without having the name of a leader.
Mentors can come to you at any time. I never realized that any one of the people I mentioned above was my mentor until I really understood what being a mentor meant. Mentors can be people who beneficially influence your career, personality, habits, etc. I’ve had many more mentors than this, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I felt it important to reach out to a few.