In these weeks of course registrations and major declarations, of commencement celebrations and graduating frustrations, our future slowly unravels. The typical cast is set, with advisers and parents all playing their roles. Excitement rises as the show begins. Our immediate choices play out on the center stage, but beyond the curtain lies an unforeseeable future. This is that coming of age tale, the timeless story about growing up. But here is a youthful protagonist; his inexperience causes stage fright, and he does not know where to begin. Maybe the actor will halt production, pausing to gain advice from someone who has played the part before. At this University, both students and professors need to revitalize the idea of mentorship.
Advice tends to be too general or too specific; vague bullet-points or personalized reflections of experience are common. Good advice is subtle, containing different meanings for each individual. But by demanding our own interpretation, the advice itself becomes useless. You ask another for help and are told to look within yourself for answers; this paradox ensures you begin where you started. And so we are pulled by the polarizing currents of wisdom: Are we to learn from others or "figure it out" on our own? Regardless, receiving guidance is an essential instrument of growth in college.\nThe current system of undergraduate advising proves tremendously lacking; a fifteen minute appointment can sort out bureaucratic issues or clarify hazy questions, but does not provide substantive answers. All of the advising programs - from career services and internship planning to major advising - presuppose that the student has decided where his passion lies. For the student who is entirely lost, or rather has not chosen a path to be lost from, thorough guidance is needed. It takes more than a few of weeks of orientation to ensure we are headed in the right direction. Therefore, teachers and students must work to cultivate individual relationships.
It is the student who must first seek advice, but several obstacles can prevent this from happening. We may worship our newfound individualism or overestimate our foresight. Some of us have reached the pinnacle of undergraduate development - the prototypical self-reliant student with ambitious tendencies, balancing a crammed schedule with the clich
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