I kept asking myself over and over why would someone do that to me? What had I done to deserve silence from someone I held in such high regard? Someone I trusted, respected, and looked up to with admiration. Someone who inspired me to dream bigger, reach further, and believe in the path I was carving. Maybe I was a distrubance.
Did my questions become too frequent, my presence too inconvenient? Did I disappoint in a way I wasn’t even aware of? If so, all was tell me. A word. A sentence. Anything but silence.
I would have understood. I would have adjusted. I would have stepped back.
But instead, I was left to fill in the blanks on my own. And in that space, doubt crept in. My passion, which once burned bright with purpose, flickered beneath the weight of unanswered questions.
We often talk about mentorship as something beautiful an exchange of wisdom, a relationship built on trust, respect, and shared purpose. But what we don’t talk about enough is the pain that comes when that bond breaks. When a mentor, knowingly or not, withdraws without explanation, leaving behind a mentee who still believed.
Words matter. Promises matter. The guidance you once gave could lit a fire in someone. But when that fire is left untended ignored, dismissed, or walked away from…it didn’t just go out. It turned inward, consuming confidence, shaking the foundation once thought was built.
To anyone taking on the role of a mentor,
please understand the responsibility you hold. It’s not just a title. It’s not just occasional advice. It’s a commitment, a subtle, sacred contract that says, “I see something in you, and I’m here to guide you”.
If you can’t stand in that space with presence, don’t offer it at all. Don’t open the door if you’re going to close it without explanation. Don’t plant hope if you’re going to walk away when it blooms.
Because for those of us who are ambitious, hungry to learn, and full of good intention they don’t just see you as a mentor. They see you as a mirror of who they hope to become. And when that mirror shatters, they’re left trying to piece together not just the image of you “but of ourselves”.
And yet… in this quiet, in the absence of answers, they come to learn something unexpected.
I’ve learned that I was never truly standing on your path….I was always on my own. I just hadn’t realized it yet.
Today, I understand that no one is obligated to carry your fire but you. No one will think of your dreams the way you do. No one will fight for you with the same intensity. You can’t rely on borrowed light forever. At some point, you must find your own spark.
So try to pull yourself out and walk.
It’s you who must choose yourself. You who must protect your heart, your hunger, your hope. And you who must rise, even when those you looked up to let you down.
Because in the end, it’s just you and you. And that – learning, is enough.