Who Mentored You?

Doesn’t everyone have some wise individual who takes an interest in helping guide them through a successful life or up the career ladder? Really, who are those lucky people who nice old guys leave their inheritance to? All you have to be is a good person, right? Then someone accomplished will lead you to your fortune. Those are the stories we read about in tabloids and see in the movies all the time.

Sure, there are a lucky few people who this might happen to. But for most of us, our successes and personal accomplishments are usually only attributed to one person – you! However, there are people and souls who we learn lessons from – some who leave an indelible impression on our soul even if we only knew them for a short period of time.

Those are the ones who mentor us and get us to a magical place in life. Rarely are these people our parents, so we wanted to share our stories with you of who helped us be who we are! After reading ours, we hope you will think about your own.

Wise women
As far back as I can remember, my mother and her mother (my grandmother lived with us) would put me to bed, with tales of their past. They reminisced about their life in Europe, but mostly they talked about the war – World War II. Most people respond to their practice with horror. After all tales of war as bedtime stories for a five, six, seven, or ten year old girl doesn’t sound like the sweet reveries most parents read or tell their young children as they tuck them in to rest. But, their tales (often repeated) of loss, outrunning danger and staying alive by their wits and intuition, intrigued me into understanding first hand that strength and courage and listening to our inner senses are invaluable characteristics to be cultivated, practiced and encouraged.

One night during those years, my parents were out and my grandmother tucked me in solo. I told her a story of how I had listened to a little voice in my head on my way home from school that day. I had decided to cross the street at a different corner, because I felt an intense fear when I was about to step off the curb. As I turned back, I heard the squeal of tires and the crash of metal. My grandmother’s response to me… “You are a very wise girl. Always remember that you are very wise.” I still hear her voice and her words in my head when I think twice about listening to my intuition.” (Maddy)

School house rock
Education was stressed above all else in my family – my mother had married early and dropped out of college, and my grandmother had always been dependent upon the men in her life. My father wanted me to be an independent woman and always spoke of the value of learning anything and everything. Mrs. Betly my second grade teacher fostered my love of reading and was the first to help me realize I wanted to be a writer. Ms. Setty in High School forced me to think critically about my work. Mr. Rosenbloom, a young Spanish teacher, knew I liked music and burned me copies of Ben Harper, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Clash and The Shins, which proclaimed in the movie Garden State to really change your life – and it did mine! When I graduated from college I became a music writer and hopefully have helped others to discover great bands.

But most importantly, the teachers in my life inspired me to do something profound – and that is to become a teacher myself. No matter the budget cuts that take place in education, it is the teachers who really care and do something as simple as burn a student their favorite CD – a simple act of kindness that can have a profound impact. (Anne)

Oh baby!
Since my mother worked a lot while I was growing up – and she kept my father away from the house for most of the waking hours of my formative years – I relied mostly on others for mentoring in my youth. At age four, from my babysitter Donna, I learned the delight and deliciousness of preparing and serving a meal that took all day to prepare (something I still love to do in my 40s!). I learned that glamour was a virtue and that putting your make-up on was a ritual for you – not anyone else. I also learned that anything less than total devotion in love was not worth your time.

From neighbor Joyce, I understood that any place where you felt nurtured and were having fun was the best place on earth to be. I also learned to always listen to children and treat them as intelligent and magical little beings who would one day be your peer. From Mama Parr, I saw that it was an honor to be defined by the devotion and pride you held in your heart for your job, home or loved ones. From Daddy Parr I learned that you could laugh at just about anything (except when Mama Parr died). From my dad, I learned that you can feel the deepest love imaginable without speaking any words or even being in the same room with someone. From my mom, I understood we all need to feel appreciated.

Fast forward three decades… in trying to think of mentors in my career, all I can think of are a few unfair bosses, not-always-honest co-workers and hard knocks. But in every one of those situations was a lesson that got me to where I am now, which is a place I am so very grateful for. Without the mentoring of my formative years, I would not have had the ability to learn the lessons and make lemonade out of lemons – you know, that thing called life! (Jean)

If things turned out how they are in the movies, we wouldn’t have had the skills to survive. So let’s raise a toast to real life and the very real people we encounter every day who may mentor us without even knowing it.