Last night was a cool evening for our agency. We hooked up with our friends at Café Momentum to mentor an art project about Racial Justice. What does a 39-year old white woman living in North Dallas know about feelings of racial injustice? Not much. But I listened and learned. I worked with Christina on bringing her emotions to life in a mural. Christina didn’t feel confident in her ability to communicate her feelings with pictures, so it was a pretty awesome dialog. We both shared our points of view and experiences and created a pretty cool piece of art. The idea was all hers, I just followed her direction.
Being a mentor is one the most rewarding things you can do for yourself. Not only will you learn about yourself, your community and your gift, you will…
- Connect with someone on a level that’s honest and raw. So good for the soul.
- Be asked questions that you can’t answer, and will be pushed to be (and do) more.
- Provide someone with a confidant, a place to go for guidance when they feel off course.
I always tell our greenlighters to “Be a teacher. Stay a Student.” Set up monthly check-ins with your mentor, talk about setbacks and successes. LEARN from them. And pass it FORWARD. Just as good as chicken noodle soup.
-Olivia Cole, COO