This Saturday I had my mentor orientation at the YWCA, and I’ve got to say, I’m even more excited to be participating in this now that I know a bit more about the program. I originally heard about the YWCA mentorship program through my mom who works at a high school. She knew the program was looking for more mentors and suggested that my older sister and I sign up since we are both in our twenties and professionals.

I know it sounds silly, but I can’t help but feel a little weird being considered a “professional”. I’m not a doctor, lawyer, or science researcher. I’m an assistant at the very beginning of my career, and most of the time I just feel like I’m fakin’ it til I make it. I know I’m 26 (cat’s out of the bag!) and that means I’m an adult and all, but I still remember high school and university like it was yesterday. Maybe I’m just having a bit of trouble accepting that I’m getting older, but the reality is I’ve been out of school for over three years now. Even though I still feel like a newbie at this whole living-on-my-own-supporting-myself-responsible-adult-situation, I can’t deny that I’ve learned a lot over the years and I can’t wait to share some of my wisdom with an eager, ambitious young girl who sounds a lot like me when I was her age.

We get to meet for the first time this weekend, then we meet at least once a month until the end of June. It’s a pretty ideal schedule as far as volunteering goes, plus I won’t just be working the bar at some gala to get some festival pass in exchange for all my hours (which I’m not knocking because I’ve done it and it was super fun). Being a volunteer mentor means that I will actually, first-hand, be able to help and impact someone else’s life for the better. More specifically, I get to help them become better prepared for their transition into post-secondary, which I can attest to being a pretty daunting and stressful experience. I owe a lot to my older sister who helped me out when I was making that transition, and I’ve tried my best at paying it forward to my younger sister too. I’m definitely looking forward to these next 8 months, and if anyone has any suggestions for activities I could do with my mentee, please let me know!

Have you ever been a mentor before? What advice would you give to a grade 12 mentee about to embark on their journey into adulthood?

-Mo’ Houses out!

(Image: mzacha/rgbstock)