Mentoring In My Life

I first became interested in seeking out an opportunity to volunteer in some capacity when I was a sophomore at Grand Blanc High School. I have volunteered at a number of places while in high school but one experience in particular will have a lasting impact on my life forever. I have been volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Flint for nearly two years. Being a "Big" is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Mentoring a local youth was always something I wanted to do! I am the youngest child in my family, growing up with three older sisters. My older sisters mean the world to me, throughout my life I have looked up to them. I wanted to be that mentor for a young girl as well, knowing how much my older siblings mean …show more content…
I went into my mentoring experience hoping that I would have an impact on a youth in my town; However, I was unprepared for the significance my little sister would have on my life. I quickly learned that mentoring is a two-way street. My sister, Hope, helps me learn more about myself as a person with every visit! Being a Big Sister keeps me aware of things that I want to work on with myself. For instance, if I’m with my Little Sister I don’t want to be self-conscience in any way or worry about trivial things because I don’t want her to do that and that’s not something that I want from myself. I try to put my best foot forward when I'm with her and I believe that makes me a better person in general, because I want to be the kind of person that she can look up to, whether I’m with her or not. I want to be the best role model for her. We’ve grown extremely comfortable and close with one another throughout these years. She was freshly in the third grade when we met and now she's almost in her last year at elementary school, so her interests have evolved, but I think we’ve been able to grow together and that’s something that I’m really proud of. I want her to know moving forward, as she continues to change, that our relationship can evolve and we won’t be stuck in one dynamic. We’ll grow …show more content…
She constantly said that her mother made her be a little and she didn't want to talk about her life with me. I felt extremely discouraged, and I doubted my ability to be a good mentor to her. After a few meetings she started to come out of her shell and she wasn't shy to ask me for help. She admitted to being terrible at math and she was nervous for a “Math Facts Contest” where the students had to know their multiplication tables by heart. That night I went to an office supply store and bought a pack of multiplication times table flashcards and I printed off some worksheets that we could work together on. We studied a little bit every outing, we made little games out of it she wouldn't feel like she was at school when it was the weekend. A few weeks into Hope and I studying multiplication together she lit up when she told me that she got first place in the contest. That was the moment I knew being a mentor is one of the most important things in my life. I was just as happy as she was about winning! Now, almost two years later, Hope continues to excel in math and I couldn't be more proud of her. She is more confident in her school work. I always knew that she was capable, she just needed a little push to help her