Oof. This past week was a blur, with extreme highs and lows.
There are people who will put you in your place by showing you how much they know. This place is a prison. There are others who will put you in your place by revealing how much there is to learn, welcoming you to embark on your own path. This place is an abyss. I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t know which place is better because both can be overwhelming, frustrating, paralyzing, and terrifying. The people around you make the difference.
Sometimes, it comes down to making choices and a stroke of luck by encountering people who will become life-changing mentors. One of those individuals, Dr. Eta S. Berner, passed away a few days ago. I will be forever grateful for her mentorship and for putting me in my place.
Our brains find comfort in the confines of ignorance. I use this word because it signifies that you only know what you know until you know more. A great mentor accomplishes one thing: making you aware without standing in your way. A great mentee needs to do one thing: choose.
I was inclined to end with the sentiment that we needed 1000 Dr. Berners, and we lost the only one we had. However, all of us who studied under her must carry on. She did her part, and it is time to rest.