Blog 5 - Mentorship Reflection

1. Mentorship Question: Describe your experience in how how you found your mentorship? If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

From the beginning, (of this senior year... not of time) I knew I wanted to do something in regards to law. My father, an attorney, has instilled in me a passion for government and I have looked forward to doing this project since sophomore year. Finding a mentor was difficult at first because I did not want my father to be my mentor, but as the deadline approached for finding a mentor, I found my contacts limited and my father to be my only reliable source. I wanted his help to find myself a mentor who would be a friend of his, but who would have known that the lawyers and judges of America don't have the time or will take a passionate youngster underneath their all knowledgeable, and frankly rude wing.

It was a difficult choice that I fretted about for several weeks because I wanted to do this without his assistance. I craved independence, but I realized that I wasn't going anywhere without help and I have the biggest resource I could have possibly imagine one door over and I was just going to ignore it for reasons of pride? No. So there I was at 2am knocking on my parents door... "Alright! I have come to a decision. You can be my mentor dad!" At that point, I don't think he cared much what I thought. In fact I'm pretty sure at the moment, what he was thinking was pretty darn rude, but he went along with it anyway and for that, I am grateful.

2.  Research Question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

So far the most important article I have read was "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant" by Jose Antonio Vargas. Although it was published in 2011, its events are still considered current despite the fact it doesn't include some of the most recent developments in immigration law. That article basically consisted of the story of one man, who wrote about his own life story of pain, deprivation and truth. I would like to say it was a heartwarming and touching story, but the truth is that it was horrific. His life was unfair and though he tried all his life to beat the system, the government eventually won and he came clean in a confession through the form of that article. If anything, it was inspiring and awakening. All my life I have grown up in a law office where I saw people just like me, but in so much worse conditions, simply due to fate. Due to the fact that they were born in another country, their life was bound by restrictions mine was not. It pains me to this day that our system works like that, but the simple fact is: it works. So there won't really be a change. That's the truth and thats the basis of the article.

If this introduction was intriguing and you would like to read the full 12 page article, click here.