In this age of social media and the internet, it seems as if young people are suffering in a different way than any other generation ever has. It is a type of suffering that our parents and grandparents will never understand but is extremely real. With “living” on the internet comes pressure and comparison. Every day, we are able to see the way that others around the globe live, what they wear, what cars they drive, and the incredibly “perfect” families that they have. While everybody knows that there is a “filter” online and that you can never accurately judge someone based on their Instagram profile, there is still a certain level of pressure that we must measure up to those we see on the internet.
It has been shown through research and studies that teenagers today suffer from depression and anxiety more than teenagers in any other previous generations and it is difficult to find anyone in a mentorship position that is able to relate and relay advise. Recently, I have been able to find a mentor in a workplace environment to guide me through my professional career, and I have joined a small group of other women in many different places in life. Through this, I have realized the vital importance of mentorship to navigate through the craziness of life.
Through the mentorship of many different people in different places in life as well as different ages, I am able to witness the importance of open mindedness and learning from other’s experiences. It is so easy to assume that you are the only person going through a situation or experiencing a certain feeling, when in reality there is another person close to you that has already experienced that and has learned the best ways to navigate through it. While your experiences are completely unique to you, another person’s perspective can be the difference between you making the best or worst move for that situation.
As human beings, we were created to be social. It is in our innate personalities to crave community and go through our life experiences with the support of another person. Making sure that the community you bring around you is able to be a positive influence and assist you in working through your hardships is going to make the difference when it comes to making independent decisions and working through your future hardships.
Many people are unsure about taking advice from those that have come before us because our times have changed, and our circumstances are different, but the incredible thing about this is that we need to be reminded of the way things have been. We cannot appreciate the situations we have been placed in or the things we are working towards if we are not able to grab hold of where we, as a society, used to be. Those that we seek mentorship from are the individuals that worked their entire lives to get our society to the place it is now, and we have so much to learn from them. By being able to humble ourselves and take the time to listen to the advice that they have, we are able to take a break from the current pressures that we are feeling and take a different approach to solving the many issues we face.
Mentorship, in every single environment, is completely vital to ensure that every person is pushed and empowered to reach their full potential. It is not always the most glamorous or exciting process, but it challenges and forces individuals to grow and become the person that they are meant to be in order to make a positive impact in this world.
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