Starting my journey as a mentee with Brightside Mentoring has been an exciting and enlightening experience. Like many who struggle with managing ADHD and the challenges of college life, I found myself constantly fighting procrastination and the lack of ability to prioritise my work effectively.
Realising that I needed help, I signed up with Brightside Mentoring, hoping to find a mentor who could help me find balance.
I envisioned a mentor as someone similar to a counsellor, someone who would listen to my issues and offer advice or suggestions. However, my experience with Brightside taught me that mentors are much more than just advisors: they utilise their own experiences and journeys to offer guidance. They don’t tell you what to do; they show you different paths and possibilities based on their own lives, helping you on your way forward.
Choosing the right mentor was a crucial step in the process. When filling out my profile, I made sure to highlight my hobbies and interests – particularly my love for gaming and music, which are significant parts of my life. I also prioritised finding someone who had experience in areas I wanted to explore, such as apprenticeships.
It was important to me to find a mentor who could relate to my interests and understand the challenges I face.
I matched with a mentor who shares similar interests and she’s been delightful from the beginning. She is incredibly friendly and accommodating, which has made it easy for me to communicate openly, every couple of days.
Whether it’s something as simple as preferring a more informal style of conversation or discussing more significant concerns about my future, I feel comfortable sharing my thoughts with her.
We’re one month into the three-month programme and we’ve spent time discussing what I hope to achieve as a mentee, my long-term goals, and the obstacles currently standing in my way. This has included addressing my struggles with procrastination and prioritisation, as well as exploring ways to manage my ADHD more effectively in college, with the help of professionals I am seeing.
Additionally, we’ve talked about communication arrangements, and deciding on a mix of video calls and texts to stay connected, as of now we have not had a video call yet.
Moving forward, I feel confident that I have the support I need to navigate the challenges ahead, with a mentor who genuinely understands my needs and shares my enthusiasm for both my personal and professional growth.
I’m excited to see where this journey will take me and how it will help me overcome the challenges I face.
