I have had a few wonderful mentors in my life. Ross Hepburn, one of my teachers in high school, started the list. He was an inspiration who encouraged us to go out there and accomplish whatever we dreamed of doing. When I attended my first high school reunion 15 years later, he approached me and said he remembered how well I did in school and what a good writer I was for the school newspaper. He wanted to know what I'd done with my life to date and what I planned to do with the rest of it. It really made me think.
Another mentor was also a teacher, but never one of mine. The first time I met Judy was at elementary school where she taught my brother. I was 9 and she was 19, fresh out of normal school. Our lives weaved in and out over the years. At one point we ended up in a travel course together, which became the glue for our common bond.
She went on to become a travel agent and even opened her own agency, Judy Smith Travel, for a few years. When she turned 72 recently she was very excited because she was planning a tour to her 72nd country. I love hearing about her travels and the places in the world she holds dear to her heart. Turkey is still one of her favorite places. She looks forward to visiting there at least once more to see the newest ruins, Gobekli Tepe, which predates Stonehenge by six thousand years. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/gobekli-tepe.html In the meantime she is leading a group tour into Africa!
A woman I met 5 years ago in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was already a mentor to me before I went to live there for a year. Pat Henry, author of the book, "By the Grace of the Sea, www.amazon.com/By-Grace-Sea-Womans-Odyssey/dp/0071355278 took on the world at a very rough point in her life. She was the first woman to sail solo around the globe.
I was given Pat's book as a gift when I took up sailing myself at 56 years old. It was obvious I was more of a social sailor than a solo sailor as I raced around Okanagan Lake in the interior of BC. It was more than coincidence that I'd get a chance to meet Pat in person. I joined the Puerto Vallarta writer's group and she was a member and an occasional presenter. It wasn't long before she also convinced me to join the local tango dance group, another one of her loves. She is almost 72 now and even though she no longer sails she keeps busy teaching her organic stretching classes http://www.pat-henry.com painting, and dancing tango. Check out the Rosita Hotel at the north end of the Malecon on Sunday afternoons. She still travels and one of her favorite places is Argentina (for the tango, of course!) Otherwise she is home in La Cruz doing her gardening, her newest passion.
Both of my children have been my mentors too. They've encouraged me to travel and write and enjoy my life. Their own choices in life to follow their artistic endeavors have been good role models for me.
I'm amazed by the number of friends I have who are artists in their own right, whether it's writing, painting, or photography. Meg Munro is another fabulous painter in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Check out her website, www.megmunro.com Another friend who paints, Donna, lives in Ketchum, Idaho. Her work can be seen on her website at http://www.donnapsavage.com/ArtbyCanzada.html
These are only a few of the people who have made a difference in my life. They have given me the inspiration to continue to enjoy my passions too!
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