Pursuits...

I need to clear something up: I have not officially graduated from university yet, I have 12 credits left, thanks everyone for the congratulations but...yeah.

It is said that those who have not tasted the bitterness of defeat will never be truly able to appreciate the sweet taste of victory. After my retiring from student organizations, I have since begun to pursue other things. It's quite obvious now that nothing is as ideal as one hopes for it to be. My greatest fear now is mediocrity. I dread the day that people will look at me as only some washed up former student leader who leads the life of someone average-someone who hasn't really contributed to the society that he lives in, someone who really can't make much of a difference, etc. I'm quite scared of that.

In essence, I am running away from that. I really do want to make a difference in society or at least in some small way within the community. My greatest fear is failure. "What if I get rejected from everything that I am pursuing?" is the question that constantly crosses my mind.

This lonely uphill battle will be reality for me in the foreseeable future. I sure hope that the past four years have meant something to someone so that I may be able to get that job or get into that school...

...only time will tell...

Pursuits...

I need to clear something up: I have not officially graduated from university yet, I have 12 credits left, thanks everyone for the congratulations but...yeah.

It is said that those who have not tasted the bitterness of defeat will never be truly able to appreciate the sweet taste of victory. After my retiring from student organizations, I have since begun to pursue other things. It's quite obvious now that nothing is as ideal as one hopes for it to be. My greatest fear now is mediocrity. I dread the day that people will look at me as only some washed up former student leader who leads the life of someone average-someone who hasn't really contributed to the society that he lives in, someone who really can't make much of a difference, etc. I'm quite scared of that.

In essence, I am running away from that. I really do want to make a difference in society or at least in some small way within the community. My greatest fear is failure. "What if I get rejected from everything that I am pursuing?" is the question that constantly crosses my mind.
This lonely uphill battle will be reality for me in the foreseeable future. I sure hope that the past four years have meant something to someone so that I may be able to get that job or get into that school...

...only time will tell...

Retirement and Reflection

Four years on, my participation in/leadership of seven student and department organizations ends. I have chosen for it to end here out of my own free will. I have not been coerced into doing anything. Many have asked: “Why retire? You still have one semester left.” There are many reasons and I would like to make some of them public.

First and foremost of course is the Law School Admission test. I wish to be able to fully focus on studying for it during the summertime and into the fall so that I may take it in the fall. This exam determines whether or not one gets into law school. GPAs and extra-curricular/co-curricular activities matter little when it comes to law school admissions.

Secondly, I would like to receive a full time position at St. John’s. In order to do so, I must focus fully on building bridges within the university and making sure my resume looks good. Meanwhile, I must also be sure not to have any other obligations holding me back. I mean, seven organizations was quite time consuming, even for me.

Also, I think that I am also tired. Most of the public sees the good things: the awards, the appreciation, the smiles, the well attended events, etc. However, few ever see the hundreds, if not thousands, of frustrations that go into each and every event, award or smile. Let’s take this for example: many students know that I make exclusive events for certain people. There are many people who would really like to join these events but cannot due to certain reasons that I will not get into now. Imagine hearing that one person within this exclusive group saying that she cannot attend because of menstrual pain and finding out that she was at another event a few hours later. (I would not have been as disappointed if she would have simply said that she did not wish to attend. There was another person who said she simply wanted to be elsewhere and that was fine with me. However, the fact that an excuse was made is just so disappointing). So there I am, scheduling and even providing transportation but to no avail. Of course, this is not the first time that something like this happened and I have learned not to make a big deal out of it. As my former supervisor said, “as you enter this program, your heart is made of glass but by the time you leave this program, your heart is made of steel.”I have also noticed that nobody will “take care of me” unless I take care of myself first. This is precisely what I will begin doing. For four years (more than that if you count high school), I have tried very hard to help a number of people through good times and hard times. Yes, I did enjoy doing that but there was a certain void created in the sense that I left little, if any, time for myself. I will begin to change that now. I must, as a colleague of mine at the Office of Business Affairs said, pursue what I think is best for me. There are other more personal reasons for leaving the world of extra curricular and co-curricular activities. These reasons have nothing to do with the activities or even the university itself. These reasons have no place on the web so I will write no further on the topic.I have also learned quite a bit this year. Aside from my academic work, I learned that my martial arts skill should not be used carelessly. On the 27th of April, I had a martial arts demonstration on campus and the last part was to show how people sparred in martial arts. Now, my opponent was someone who trained in Korea so I thought that he would be able to take me quite easily. Little did I know that I would hit him in the face so hard! (Joshua, I am sorry about that). There was a second opponent after him who trained with me while we were in high school. This opponent was a great fighter and was much higher level than I was while in high school, so my impression was him was that he must still be good. Needless to say, I guess I must have improved quite a bit over the last four years.

Sadly, I have also learned that there are very few people in the world who will actually keep in touch when they say that they will. Perhaps the people who say this actually mean it when they say it, however, in the end, they usually do not. Maybe they’re not able to for legitimate reasons. Acquiring the skill of not being too emotionally attached to any one person or organization has been forced upon me through the experiences that I have had throughout my years. I have also learned not to let the disappointment of this fact hold me back.

Before this begins to sound like something very negative, I would like to emphasize that I have come along many people who are inherently good and wish to contribute to society along with friends. These men and women have been the inspiration for what I have done throughout my college career; from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all.

Please do not be sad that I have chosen to leave. Remember that today you might be sad but life goes on! Like any other leader, I will also be forgotten and others will outshine me. I pray for the day that many students on campus do more than what I have done and accomplish everything that I had failed to accomplish. If this happens, then there will be hope for the next generation and great prospects for society. The Asian Pacific Community especially needs more active students. Please, go out there, learn the game, and lead.

Farewell and good luck!

Taunting...?

I wasn't going to write anything about this incident but I started hearing complaints from my Korean-American friends that they have been taunted just for being South Korean.I would like to emphasize that insanity knows no racial or ethnic boundaries and that whatever jokes one could make regarding a South Korean with references to the recent shooting rampage is not only not funny, but it is insensitive and naive.

We all know that he was insane: www.msnbc.com has a his video clips and writings; we all know that he was basically illogical and incoherent. He was a person in need of help who never got it. Just because he was South Korean does not mean that every South Korean, or Asian for that matter, has murder in his or her mind. Please remember that the two students who shot up Columbine High School were Caucasian and nobody ever gave other Caucasians trouble just for being Caucasian.

If you receive taunts for being South Korean or being Asian in general, or if you hear anything, please be sure to tell the perpetrator that he/she is being insensitive and stupid. If you are a victim at St. John's, please do not hesitate to report it directly to the Office of Judicial Affairs: 718.990.5036 (Mr. Jack Flynn) or you could come to me.

Thank you very much for your time and attention.

?

Perhaps it is the fact that I do not like Mr. Chen Shui-Bian. Or maybe after a certain amount of time, people simply grow apart. Whatever the reason, it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain the cohesiveness of group(s) that were once seemingly inseparable. It's quite sad, actually. My schedule makes it almost impossible for me to reach out and when I do, my attempts at correspondence are generally responded to really late or simply not responded to at all. (In my opinion, attempts at correspondence, (whether it be phone calls, voicemails, or e-mail messages), that are not replied to is just like running away when someone tries to say hi. But that's just my opinion and since when did that really matter anyway?)

I go through something like this every year. You would think that I would learn something by now. I guess being forgotten about and/or being rendered insignificant is something that I should get used to in this line of work. There is so little that I could do to stop the cycle. However, there seems to be at least one or two exceptions to this cycle. Of course, I am very happy about this.

Will this be the beginning of a month and a half long goodbye or will this situation get better? God only knows.

No matter. I have decided to retire from this line of work in May. I will pursue other things. Simply put: the investment should be proportional to the return. Don't forget: I'm a business major. My retirement would probably mean the end of a chapter in my life. I will save that topic for a weblog at a later date.

(This is not to say that I will not still work very hard, however).

______________________________________________________

I finally mustered enough strength to tell my father about my rejection from Goldman Sachs...

...

"Application rejected" has appeared on my record for the second and final time. It's over.

I learned an important lesson this time around, though: "don't put all your eggs in one basket." I was foolish, arrogant and hard-headed for doing so, but at least I have learned from this.

Now it's time to forget Goldman Sachs and just focus on that jurist doctorate.

"我真的沒有天份..."

Thanks for all the prayers and support, people. Failure is to be accepted and learned from. I just wish that I had learned more the first time around...

To fight or not to fight...

Let's establish this fact first: when one is turning right and there's someone in the opposite lane turning left, one has the right of way because the one turning left at the opposite side will cross into the opposite person's lane. (Duh, everyone knows this).
So anyway, I am the one who was turning right today. This other vehicle was really intent on turning left and tried really hard to do so, but I got in first. Then, I stopped my vehicle to drop off a person who I was driving home.
The driver of the other vehicle then was very belligerent and I had already tried to avoid him, but he insisted on getting out of his vehicle and wanting to speak with me (more like yell at me). (This person was about five foot eight inches, Asian American, medium build). So I spoke to him rather calmly and pretending to not notice what had happened.
"You don't realize what you did?" Was the response. I didn't answer. He said "fuckhead" and basically drove off.
Now, this situation would have been a bit different had I gotten out of the vehicle (for obvious reasons).
Why did I choose not to get out of the vehicle and confront him?
1. "Equal force should be met with equal threat." My years of martial arts training would probably have come down on him quite hard. (I assume that he doesn't really have many years of training because he was first belligerent and confrontational. Most martial artists would have let it go).
2. I felt that I had more to lose than he did. This happened at a place very close to Saint John's University and if I fought him and the police came, we would both be arrested and I would have been ejected from the President's Society.
3. I was in a good mood. It's spring break, guys!
So anyway, what do you think? Should I have exited my vehicle and had a higher chance of entering a fight?
My brother says that I am a waste of martial arts training because his rationale was "why didn't you fight him? You train practically everyday anyway, you're a waste of Kung Fu!"
My other friend asked, "is your training really that good?" This got me to think that I should "test it out" because although I really do feel that the training is great, I really don't know just how great.
I understand that there's a rationale among Asian Americans that we should just fight first and ask questions later. But one has to think about the consequences, too...
I am going to ask my master and see what he thinks.

Changed mind?

So Goldman Sachs (www.gs.com) did call after all! It was totally after the date that they claimed all responses would be out, but at least they called.

I now get a second interview. A Goldman Sachs Summer Internship will not only be a great experience, but it would be my ticket out of having to always having to "just scrape by"...it would also be the ultimate test of my ability to perform under pressure.

Tuesday morning will be judgement day. There will be no more messing up. God help me! It'll also be midterm examinations week!

Thanks for all the prayers, everyone!

Even More Thoughts

So my mentees have all returned from wherever they may have been. They are all so lucky! They run around the United States and Asia like it's nothing. Haha. Some mentees even bought me presents, I was so grateful and giddily happy! (Of course, it is necessary to note that I am not in mentoring for the presents that I could potentially receive).

I used to be such an avid blogger. I wonder what happened... Perhaps the things that are most worthy of my attention and concern are inappropriate for posting onto the Internet. Issues that dominate my time, energy, and efforts are unfortunately things that cannot be solved easily. My focus should be on school, campus organizations, and work. But, as we all know, what "should be" generally isn't.

The targets for a summer internship are Goldman Sachs, CitiGroup, JP Morgan Chase, Smith Barney, Bear Stearn's, Credit Suisse, etc. However, I may not put in the effort to apply to more than three. I wasn't qualified enough for Goldman Sachs last summer, hopefully I'm a stronger applicant this semester. Which also means that an extensive summer trip to Asia would be out of the question. (Perhaps a very brief trip...?). That's not too important, I guess. Asia will still be around.

Things will change drastically in 2008. I just hope that I will be ready for them.

TIME Magazine

^ This week's issue ^


I encourage everyone to read it carefully, though; watch for biases.


"Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you read."

Over the course of this break, I have had some time to reflect upon what types of things that I think that I am looking for. First and foremost, I would like to admit that I am a person who’s quite difficult to understand. In many cases, I can’t understand myself, either. HAHA. Alright, so perhaps that’s not very funny considering that I just admitted to being unable to understand myself.

Okay, here’s what I am thinking about: from careful analysis of all prior relationships, I seem to have this personality that’s difficult to get close to. I’ve built “walls” that prevent anyone from entering easily. To make it worse, I am not a very trusting person. So, when a person tries to get close to me too quickly, I just tell her that we need to 分手. Then, the vicious cycle begins again. My inability to communicate to even myself precisely what I am looking for kills my interest off every single time.

Odd, right? Totally!

“Marcus is weird and impossible, so don’t even bother.” *苦笑*

Cold

The cold weather seems to have become more bitter as all of my mentees have left New York City.

I miss them. =/.

Grades, et al.

This semester's report card came out...

CHI 1010 Core Elementary Chinese I: A
ENG 4991 Seminar in British Literature: A
IB 3341 Principles of International Business: A
MGT 4310 Entrepreneurship: A-
MKT 3301 Principles of Marketing: A
THE 3305 Moral Theology of the Marketplace: A

I was so close. A semester 4.0 is ever elusive for me. That A- really devasated all hopes of having a semester 4.0 this time around. Although I do thank the people who inspired me so much: my mentees. They come from a place where the language, culture, climate, etc., are totally different and they are able to outperform so many other students academically. I am born here in the United States and I have no excuse but to do well in school. I must continue to work hard.

Next semester's courses are going to be so much more difficult. God help me.

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The following is going to be exceptionally sporadic thoughts that may not make any sense...

So anyway, this trip to Vancouver has brought my attention to so many things. What does one value and what should one value? She said that I was an avoider. She said that the seven organizations, part time job, and other work that I place onto my shoulders, (even though it may be wonderful) is another way for me to avoid seeing the obvious issues that are all around. She's probably right, but how could one possibly do anything about somethings that one has no power over? That question simply cannot be answered and what I am doing now is the only way cause in the short term, there is no other way.

["She" will remain anonymous].

Returned

I am now back in New York City. It's time to implement a few changes in life and reprioritize...

I miss my mentees, but I know that many of them are having lots of fun overseas so I wish not to bother them too much.

=).

Vancouver, et al.

I have finally gotten the chance to sit down at a computer and just type away.

Vancouver has not changed much, even from my childhood memories. And yet, situations have changed quite a bit. My brother and I are no longer the children in the house. Instead, there are two other kids: one four years old and the other one month old. They're the newest additions. The resulting total number of cousins on my mother's side? 10.

Things will begin to become a bit more complex beginning on the 23rd of December. This will be the calm before the storm. I do hope that I will be able to handle them well.

My right shoulder is going to need some serious attention when I return.

Christmas Presents

My mentees gave me wonderful Christmas presents yesterday and today.

It's shocking what an unexpected post-midnight outing could turn out to be.

Thank you all so much! I love you =D.

Singing Contest

Overall, the Chinese Cultural Association and the Taiwanese Students' Organizations' Annual Chinese Singing Contest went quite well. However, it was the extraneous factors pertinent to that evening that really ticked me off. I mean, a few of my mentees were not allowed to even enter the event and one of our judges, Professor Wu, was offended by the events staff.

I want to take this time out to ensure that if anyone treats people coming to an event that I am running unfairly, I will do everything in my power to set things right. I have filed an official complaint and will not rest until everyone knows that we, the Chinese population, will not be easily pushed around. Someone ought to stand up for us and I sure hope that my actions will prevent any more issues in the future.

They've messed with the wrong mentor's mentees.

Fear...?

There are certain instances in my life where I feel as if I do not know what direction my life should be taking. It feels as if hundreds upon hundreds of tasks are either placed upon my shoulders or I have voluntarily placed onto my list of responsibilities.

Yesterday was the first time that I had ever denied a task from a member of my family. My father wanted to give me a task last night that I simply could not have done. The task itself was rather simple but even so, I could not do it. I was at the point of saturation, the point where I simply could handle no more tasks. It's just sad that the person who I had to deny would be my father. I really wish to help him, I really want to be that "good eldest son of the family," but I simply could not realistically do it without sacrificing the big project for International Business that I was typing up. It was a sad reality to be facing, but my father understood; I'm so glad he did.

So which is the right way to go? There are so many options for me! Which is the right way? If I choose to go down one path, will the other path be closed to me forever? Should I study to become a lawyer and allow the prospects for a degree in International Business go down the drain? Do I have the capacity to do both? What about working during law school? Should I try to acquire a part time position at the general accounting department at the university while going for a three year jurist doctorate degree?

Perhaps I should just accept the fact that there are certain things that answer to no logic. There are simply actions that one takes which have no logical explanations, right? It's like the question of why one likes one color over the other or one ice cream flavor over the other. Is blue superior to red and Vanilla superior to Chocolate?

Sometimes, there simply are no answers, and that's one of the things I fear most. Or as one of my good friends just said, "life is random," to which I added: " and random is scary!"

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Totally unrelated to the above topic: My mentees are wonderful people and I miss them.

Relationships...?

There's an international student today who told me that he still kept in touch with his ex-girlfriend. It seems that him and his ex-girlfriend still have quite a relationship.

Naturally, I started reflecting about my own experiences with women whom I was once intimately involved with. It's funny (but sad) that none of them keep in touch with me anymore. Of course, there are two of them whom I really don't wish to speak with anymore for the rest of my life, but I guess it would be nice if the other two still would still keep in contact with me.

But the reality within my life is that breakups seem to occur on very sour (and sometimes bitter) terms. I guess dating in the United States and dating in Asian countries would be very different. Yet, I feel that in many ways, our styles are quite similar, even though we may be culturally different. Either that, or it's just my luck that I had to end relationships on such notes. But sometimes, being nice only hurts both parties more.

Reflecting further on this subject, wouldn't one who keeps in constant contact with his/her former significant other be prolonging the pain that was there? Wouldn't it be wiser to move on? It seems like there are very few people who actually break up on a "good" note. The international student whom I spoke with today is one of those lucky people. What an interesting story. Even though I find his story interesting,feel that it's best to forget what was once a reality and focus on the future.

[Haha, it's funny that I should say that and yet be writing a blog like this...]

Time to reach for that bottle of Johnnie Walker...

Myriad of Thoughts

Now listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPA7UUdaqOU. The song's in Cantonese, though.

How should I begin this entry? It's so difficult to focus on one thing when there are a thousand things on one's mind.

Today started at 6:00AM because I was late for my 5:20AM appointment with a good friend of mine and hence was unable to vote. Election day was today and I did not exercise my rights as an American citizen. I should be ashamed.

Speaking of elections, I remember a year when this man named Chen Shui-Bian was running for office in the island of Taiwan. I found it hard to believe that a man with this type of character could possibly win the position of highest political leadership in Taiwan. It was supposed to be a close race that year, and Chen Shui-Bian, while riding in an open air vehicle waving to supporters, was allegedly shot. After a thorough investigation, it was found that Mr. Chen's suit jacket was not punctured; he had not even reacted when blood supposedly squirted from his body, and was taken to a hospital that was further away from the scene of the alleged incident. In other words, he could have been taken to a hospital that was closer, but for some reason, he was taken to another one.

Long story short, there have been people who were able to see right through this scheme of his to win public sympathy votes. The military was mobilized and the men in uniform could not vote. Mr. Chen won. Today, prosecutors claim that there is enough against him to convict him of corruption. In September, scenes from Taiwan looked like this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-uQnZkqxy0.

After viewing this video, I had a newfound sense of respect for the 23 million people of the island. Even though they managed to elect someone as incompetent as Mr. Chen, at least they now realize it and want him to step down. I mean, our American president, Mr. Bush, is quite incompetent and yet there have been few protests in the United States that are even close to the scale of the protests in Taipei. There's another interesting one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpKGHqN0BrM&mode=related&search=, it seems like he has an odd accent when he speaks Mandarin.

Enough about Mr. Chen and other corrupt political leaders; they're all going to hell for what they've done anyway.

So, I was assigned with a new mentee today at 3:30pm. I do not even have her file so I don't know where exactly she is from, although she is no stranger. I know that she is also from the island of Taiwan and hangs out with my mentees quite often. I am confident that she will be as nice to me as all my other mentees and welcome her to the team with open arms.

There was something that Ms. Yen, my supervisor and boss, brought up about my mentoring style today. She brought up the example of a mentee who I had last year: I helped her quite a bit throughout the year but as soon as the mentoring relationship was over in May, she left for her home country. I went to her home country to try and visit her but she did not seem interested in meeting me. Then, when she returned, I called her to see how she was doing, but no response was made. Every month, I would leave about two voicemails to her phone and would never get a call back. My boss said that this was like having children in the sense that when they get old and don't need you anymore, they will not contact you and you will feel hurt. She told me to be very careful not to over-commit and sacrifice myself. She warned me that I could be hurt again. She said that when one enters mentoring, one's heart is made of glass, but when one is done with being a mentor, one's heart will be made of steel.

I was rather sad when I heard this. It would be rather hurtful if this were repeated again, although I have faith that it will not. Even if it does, I would be numb to it by then and probably feel very little. Anyway, this possibility should not even warrant discussion. It is a non-issue. The five of them are all so nice and will never do such things.

I have noticed that my mentees continually feed me. I was at one mentee's place yesterday evening to help her with something and she made sure I was fed before I left. I was at another mentee's place today and could not resist the great food that was available. HAHA, I am going to be SO FAT soon.

There are so many things to prepare for. I think I'll have to stop writing this and start working.

First Post

There are reasons for me to start another weblog. Honestly, I have about four that are quite active already, but have decided to create another one because it seems that this host is popular with many international students, some of whom I am close with. I wish for them (all of them) to read and comment on this blog. This not only will be able to give me feedback but will also allow them to practice their reading comprehension and writing skills. As international students, I see that they seem to struggle with language and cultural barriers here in the United States.

Allow me to introduce myself. If you don't know this already, I am an international mentor for Project A.I.M. (Asian and International Mentoring), among other things. The official responsibilities that I hold on campus are as follows: President's Society Member, Member of Saint John's University's Asian Pacific Heritage Month Planning Committee, Vice President of Saint John's University's Chinese Cultural Association, Mentor and Student Coordinator at Saint John's University's Project A.I.M. (Asian and International Mentoring), Capstone Leader at Saint John's University's LEAD (Leadership Education and Development), Member of the Multicultural Advisory Committee, Secretary of the Asian Student Leader Roundtable Discussion and Student Worker at Saint John's University's Office of Business Affairs. I also study Mandarin Chinese on Saturdays in Chinatown and am the Supervisor for the New York Chinese School Patrol. I am an avid martial artist, specializing in Tibetan White Crane Kung Fu along with Tai Chi. This might seem like a long list, but in reality it is not. It might be surprising, but there are many students on campus who are able to do this many things and perhaps even more. I hope I do not sound boastful because I had no intention of doing so by listing them. I put it out there in order for you to better understand who I am and what I do.

The focus of this blog will be my experiences as an international student mentor. I find it quite amazing that students come from such a far away land to study in a place so unfamiliar. These students are brave, and this year, I have been blessed to be assigned with four international students to mentor. One is from Shanghai, another from Beijing, and two are from Taoyuan. Three are graduate students in the university's MBA program and one is an undergraduate freshman. All four are absolutely adorable and lovely people. They are friendly, polite, and most importantly, are open to learning new things. Many Americans would say "these people should be more like us," but I say to them: "we should be more like them!" America's seemingly arrogant and condescending attitude towards people of other cultures is definitely wrong. I, for one, have much to learn.

It's not that I have not studied hard to be able to understand them, of course. I have read extensively on the political and social structure of people from the far east, i.e., China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, etc. I have not come into mentoring empty headed. Many students who I have mentored have asked, "why do you do this?" Ms. Rosa Yen, my supervisor and boss, would reply to them and say: "Mentors do this because they have heart." I would not disagree, but I would add that it is also because of my background. When I was a child, I entered school without any knowledge of English whatsoever. My parents spoke to me only in Cantonese Chinese and knew that I would be able to pick English up quite quickly when I entered school. They were right, but I definitely struggled. When I was educated in Vancouver during first grade, I was placed in an ESL class. From that day forth, I knew that I had to do something to improve my English.

I studied quite hard and was usually one of the top students in the class when it came to English. It's quite ironic that an American Born Chinese with parents from Hong Kong was the most active in discussions during class when we were discussing texts in high school. Now in college, I have taken up an English minor to supplement my Business Management major just to make sure that my English is up to par with the other Americans'. Now, my goal is to excel beyond the average American when it comes to English and go to law school in order to pursue a Jurist Doctorate (J.D.) after my undergraduate studies.

Mentoring is definitely not easy, especially since the four students have unique needs (being student coordinator doesn't make life easier for me, either). I have tried the strategy of finding common interests and bringing the four of them together. I am so glad that they like each other and hang out even when I am not around. This is encouraging because if they did not like each other, I would have to try and spend time with them separately, which would require a significant investment of time on my part. I would never neglect them if they come up with individual needs, of course. I actually try to cater to their needs as much as possible without ignoring the guidelines of my job.

The other day, I heard that my mentees were doing quite well in school. I was so happy and proud! I am generally not an emotional person, but my heart swelled with pride as I acknowledged that my mentees are brilliant people and that perhaps, (just perhaps), my influence as mentor has helped a bit.

I love my mentees. =).