1. What does it mean to be a mentor? ::
A mentor is someone that can help lead you along your journey toward your goals. Weather it be your personal life or your professional life, an ideal mentor will challenge you, shed light on the unknown, lead the way for you, provide a blueprint , set an example, provide their past experiences, and also create a friendship with you. To be a mentor, is something very special in the sense that, one can gain intimate knowledge of how things were, how they are, and how they could be.
2. Why would I be a good mentor? ::
Personally.. I’ve always wanted to have a mentor. Like an official one, especially one that focused on my professional goals. Being that I’m a very motivated individual, with a thirst for skill and success, I’ve thrived on efficiency, and learned that making mistakes was almost the quickest way to learning faster. And what better way to learn faster, than by learning it from someone who made all those mistakes already.
Unfortunately, I never had an ‘official’ mentor, but through my teens and 20′s I was fortunate to be around incredibly talented people, that helped shape who I am today. What makes me a potential candidate for being amongst the ranks of a good mentor, is that I’ve consistently succeeded at doing what I said I was going to do. This may be second nature to some people, but for the majority of people I’ve encountered, it’s easy to say things, more than do them.
However, I think I’d only be a good mentor to someone who’s interested in the things I’m interested in. There’s plenty I don’t know… And at the same time, there’s enough I do know, to be able to acquire the success I’ve built up. I’m a lover of the arts, with an intelligence catered towards the right side of the brain, overpowered by a fundamental passion for being good at what I love. I can only offer guidance in following my dreams. Because, I’m actually doing it now.
3. What skills do I offer? ::
I’m an artist. I can draw things.. I know perspective, lighting, … I can paint, and manipulate acrylics to a certain degree. I have a knack for urban things.. portraits especially.. I can design.. I’m efficient at it. I’m well versed in the design process and production workflow. I’m self taught in the areas of motion graphics animation, 3d, and video.. meaning I’ve busted my ass to learn things I didn’t have a clue about. meaning I take initiative, and don’t wait on anyone, or depend on anyone, or expect success to be handed out. I’ve made my mistakes.. and I’ve learned from them.. however, I still make mistakes, and thats ok, because that’s how you learn.
4. What kind of life experience do I have that could benefit someone else? ::
I’m 31 now… And I’m very content with where I’m at in life. I’ll always want more.. even if I have it all.. it’s just in my nature. But in my life, I’ve experienced the result of growing in a single-parent family,.. I’ve also been blessed with the knowledge of Dance. I’ve been surrounded by hip-hop culture. I grew up in the 90′s. I’ve gone to south east asia and europe – italy, france, spain, cambodia, thailand, canada & mexico…. I’ve worked at a donut store, a theme park, a convenient sore, a computer software/game store. I was a basic gymnastics instructor. I taught break-dancing and hip-hop choreography. I won dance competitions with my crew. I got busted doing graffiti, and did a headspin at the police station I was booked at. I’ve had a couple girlfriends.. and now I have an incredible woman by my side. I’ve seen my career flourish right before my eyes. I’ve made sacrifices to get here. And now I’m making it a point to get back to those things I’ve sacrificed. I understand that life is a marathon, and that we have to prepare for the long-term.
5. What has been my experience wit giving advice?
I’ve been told by my ex-girlfriend that I’m terrible at giving advice. And maybe it’s true.. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and so I tend to stay in the grey, to keep things as neutral as possible. It’s my way of not saying anything at all, if I don’t have anything nice to say. I’m not proud of this trait, but from the examples I set, there’s gotta be some nugget of good advice in there somewhere.
6. Who was a mentor to me, and what did I learn about the experience… ::
One mentor for sure, who was more of a creative mentor, is my bro Randy WishOne Bernal. Without getting into too much detail, I can say that without him, he wouldn’t have influenced me to be into things that I’m into today. He most notably influenced me in the worlds of dance & music. Now that I write this, I realize these are essentially the foundations of the artist I am today. Randy showed me dance .. it showed me expression… and from there, it led the way to discipline..which lead to even more creativity, which led me to travel, which led me to people, which led me to art,… and so on…
I don’t think Randy thinks I see him as a mentor, but… he was. He showed me a lot… and he set an example. What makes him a mentor to me, is that he’s been there to see me grow…. and I’ve been there to see him grow. This may not be the typical mentor situation, but what’s great about this experience is that, I think I’ve been able to give back to him as well, through my experiences, and examples I’ve set..
I think that’s the most important. No matter what, an individual is going to make their own decisions, on their own. I believe setting a good example, is the best way to teach.
