Welcome back to letter writing prompts! If you’re unsure about the idea of writing letters, I recommend you start with this post. The last letter we explored was a light-hearted one, a letter to an old friend. You can find that post here. And today, we’re talking about former mentors!
Mentors
As we learn and grow along our personal journeys, there are always people who help shape us and lend us perspective and advice that helps push us along our path. We call these people mentors. When people think of mentors, they will often think of someone older than you, who agrees to take you under their wing and show you their world, their business, from their point of view. But that isn’t always the case.
A mentor may or may not be older than you. The point is that they taught you things, important things, that helped form a part of who you are. And they may not have explicitly agreed to advise you in the ways of the world formally, but again, they taught you things. You respected them and their perspective enough to take on their points of view and consider them, and you found their example instrumental to who you are and how you now live your life.
Mentors may come in all shapes and forms, but the bond between you and your former mentors is special. They helped you along your path, and in a way, you helped them along theirs, because teaching is also a learning process. And no matter where you go or who you interact with, a part of their legacy lives on in you–that’s a beautiful thing.
Your letter
Pick someone from your past who taught you a lot. Maybe about something in your desired professional field, or maybe more like someone who was just there for you, when you were feeling lost, and they helped to ground you, give you insight, and paid special attention to you and where you were at. This person may have functioned as a sounding board, a role model, or a wise teacher for you. But think of that person.
Consider who you were back before you met them, and that great gift they gave to you. Reflect on the lessons they taught you, the attention they gave you, the affection they showed you as you started to grow and achieve under their tutelage. Who would you even be without them today? And grab your pen and paper.
Tell this person exactly how important they were to you, and how important they still are in your heart and life today. Tell this person how much their little actions made a difference, to you, and to the lives around you through the ripple effect. Tell them who you’ve become and the things you’ve achieved and learned because of them.
Share your words
And if you have the courage, send this letter. It may feel a little silly or uncomfortable, being this vulnerable. But this person has given you so much, they’ve brought so much love and help and information to your world, honoring them with this letter…it’s something (and in some cases, the only thing) you can do to give back to them. And as much as you may think this person is very much a role model and high above you, we’re all still human. We all feel small and insignificant somedays, and this letter could be the one piece of encouragement they have that they’ve made a difference in the world. (If you want to hear more about this subject, you can read my piece entitled “don’t save your love for a rainy day” here.) These words, your words, are a gift that you can bestow. So do it.
Thank you so much to the many mentors in this world, mine and others. What you do is incredibly important, even if you don’t get recognition for it, you are directly and indirectly, making this world a better place. Never doubt that.
