Rising With Mentorship

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From the day I was born and into childhood I had been a quiet individual who liked nothing more than to make others happy.  I grew into someone who is a quiet individual who likes nothing more than to make others happy, and to lend support where I can. I continue to grow into that more and more every day. I have been through so much, I carry so many experiences that I’ve battled through. that I feel it is my duty to give back.

It was during an Ontario March of Dimes Brain Injury Awareness conference in June of 2012 that I stumbled upon a way to give back like nothing else I had done before. I had and was volunteering at a few things, but this was personal, and it touched my heart the more I thought about it. OBIA (Ontario Brain Injury Association) was offering a Peer Support Mentoring Program.

The more I learned about it, the more I came to love it. But also question it. Was this something I could do? The OBIA website states:

A definition I found said this:

I liked the idea of offering support; I knew I had much experience to share; but words like “veteran”, “teacher”, “wisdom”, and “influential senior”???? Was I those things? Eventually I just decided to move ahead with this and I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and reached out to one of OBIA’s listed affiliates that ran the program closest to my location; BIST.

After speaking with the Coordinator at the Brain Injury Society of Toronto I was put more at ease and I came to realize that my experiences and the thoughts I had surrounding them, along with my eagerness to help and share, made me those things. When I attended the training session for this program I fell in love with this idea, the idea of paying it forward, even more. Not only was I being lead by a passionate and brilliant Coordinator but to meet seven other individuals who presented thoughtfulness and an unwavering sentiment to help, in many ways, complete strangers, was encouraging to say the least. I was surrounded by awesome, beautiful and knowledgeable people. Survivors and fighters and individuals whom simply wanted do right by others.

My questions were gone. I could do this. I could not only help someone else, but I could grow with this. It would and could benefit me as much as whomever I was to be partnered with.

Another definition I missed is:

I have been a mentor now for a little over a month and it is going good, and it is, well…. Fun! It is not just about teaching someone and imparting wisdom, but building a trusting relationship, communicating, and supporting and learning from one another. I think that this is the type of relationship we could all use; because our truest strengths not only come from past experiences, but the healthy relationships that we keep.

With brain injury we can all feel a little trapped in the dark. With this program it helps teach us and others, that we are not trapped, and none of us are really alone.