January is National Mentoring Month

President Obama declared January National Mentoring Month. I'm stoked, because I think this is a highly under-valued role that we, as adults, play in our young people's lives.
To me, mentoring is an important not only because of the effect it can have on young people, but also because of how much I learn.
Mentoring is a way to keep in touch with what is going on in our young people's lives - their lives are so different than ours were when we were their age. The challenges they face are different, and so are their accomplishments. To understand how to advocate for our young people, and to help them become the best adults they can, we have to know where they are coming from and where they want to go.
I think we, as adults, are often intimidated by the idea of mentoring. But the great thing is, it can be whatever it needs to be. Is it just a conversation in a car while you're driving to a sporting event? Is it sharing a cup of hot cocoa after shoveling some walks together? Is it chatting about a new issue, or book or something else? It means having a conversation that helps develop the thinking process of a young person, but it also means listening to them.
I consider being a mentor, or a positive adult role model, as my number one responsibility. Working with teens, that isn't hard. It is the piece I admit I enjoy the most. And the dividends are enormous. Since the beginning of December, I've had a few conversations with different teens and other young adults about where they see themselves going, about their needs, about how I might be able to help them, or not. And most common response is: 'Thank you for being there - which to me is so amazing. To them, the fact that someone takes time to listen to them, to chat with them, to trouble-shoot with them, is the most important. That I can try to help find solutions to the problems or challenges is almost secondary.
If you would have told me five years ago, that I'd be mentoring these young folks, that I would love this as much as I do, I probably would have looked at you dumbfounded. I had no idea then. And, it is only because one person had enough faith in me to try this project, that I even figured that out.
It just so happens that that one person was also my mentor.