A life lived alone is a life not worth living.
For most of us, though, this is not a problem. We have friends, family, relationships, et cetera to share our life experiences with and to stick with us through the good and the bad.
Our life, from the everyday to the collective, is made far more colorful by the individuals we know and love.
Yet, for all of the familial and peer relationships that are praised as essential, rarely is an equally important relationship mentioned: the mentor.
A mentor relationship is based on an older individual guiding a younger one through his or her journey in life. The mentor guides the novice through unfamiliar territory. Such a relationship may be contentious, but if it is successful, it is of immense value.
However, it is very uncommon to find someone — anyone — who actively has a mentor.
Even the idea of having a mentor smacks of the archaic. Vague notions of ancient Greek philosophers and their students come to mind as we modern citizens laugh off the idea of having someone older than ourselves (other than a family member) guide us through our chosen paths in life.
For young people especially, this is a lamentable omission. The young need a helping hand in their lives as they make the transition into adult careers, relationships and families. Regrettably, though, modern young adults are expected to make personal realizations of their own accord.
Without the help of someone older, someone who has walked a similar path, though, those personal realizations may come slowly, if at all.
Additionally, good proteges become good mentors. Those who receive guidance are often the most willing and able to guide the next generation.
However, the idea of taking a young person under one’s tutelage seems to be out of place in modern society.
As a young person, I can attest that I’ve never had a mentor per se.
I’ve known peers in similar situations to mine or adults who have been willing to lend some momentary assistance. Yet none have consistently made the commitment to challenge me or remind me when I’m not living up to my own potential.
Like so many in my own age group, I was expected, and expected myself, to figure it out alone.
Yet I can’t help but feel that many of the mistakes I’ve made in the past could have been avoided had I known someone five to 10 years older than me who was willing to assume that mentor role.
As I grow older, I find myself in situations where I could become someone’s mentor, if I so choose. The accumulated life experience I have, which I often take for granted, could be of immense use to someone younger than me. That information, however, is useless to the younger people around me unless I actually articulate it.
A life spent hoarding knowledge and experience, in the end, is a life not worth living.
Reach Alex at alexander.petrusek@asu.edu.
