I cannot think of a specific example so I just thought I'd talk about college in general because the transition I've gone through this year has been a stressful one. In high school I was involved in a lot of extra curricular so I assumed that when I came to college I would be the same way. However, when I started school here I got a full time job as well as joined the honors program, SSS, and the Student Philanthropy Council. So to say the least, I have had a stressful year trying to adapt to this new lifestyle I am developing for myself. I think the challenges I have faced are still changing my behavior because at first I was a very focused person only going to school, doing homework, going to club things, and going to work. This semester I have allowed myself to branch out more, make friends, and do things I actually enjoy doing rather than putting all of my effort into school and work. Some may feel that this is a negative change but I don't because I think in order to have a balanced life you should be able to have fun and get work done which is what I have accomplished this semester.
I feel that my situation is a very relate able one and next year as a peer mentor I will better be able to guide me mentees because of these experiences I faced. If I have mentees that are completely focused on school I will try my best to encourage them to branch out and maybe give them "homework" like some of the past mentors have mentioned in class. Maybe encourage them to knock on their neighbors door and invite them to a prochnow movie or dinner. There are many ways you can promote socialization which I think is important to do with our mentees because I know I have trouble making friends so I hope to prevent this within my mentees by encouraging them to get out there and be confident.
I like how you talked about helping get your mentee's out and doing things to build confidence. I kinda wish Alex had pushed me to do more of that. But with that also know being pro social can be really hard so depending on the person, you need to really help them and give them goals that aren't too anxiety ridden. But you can also promote the opposite for people too focused on being social.
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