Being a Youth Mentor on the Achieve project has afforded me the privilege of mentoring the same cohort of young people over a longer period of time, which has resulted in the development of strong, trusted, relationships with them. Through my mentoring sessions and the provision of extra-curricular activities, I have been able to watch young people grow in confidence, learn new life lessons and help them to navigate the pressures of being an adolescent today.
I have seen young people thrive in areas they would never have considered, celebrate some huge wins and find the resilience to get through challenging times. I find their ability to progress stronger and even more full of life, very inspiring.
We have recently celebrated world creativity and innovation day. I have discovered through close relationships with this cohort of young people, that they can be at their best when they are given the opportunity to create. Participating in creative activities gives young people the chance to express themselves, promote critical thinking, develop problem solving skills, resilience, and career direction. The most important thing I think, is that creativity can improve young people’s mental and physical health. When in full creative flow the young people are motivated, they are engaged and best of all, they get that huge sense of achievement when they complete a project. This in turn helps prepare and shape their futures as highly adaptable young adults, always finding solutions.
I am proud to be part of a project that uses creative based activities like drama workshops, fashion and design, literacy projects, film making or just doing a spot of painting in my mentoring sessions. I am always in awe of what the young people can produce, how incredible it is to see a young mind working wonders when they are given the opportunity, time and patience to create - it really does foster a new love of learning. With that, I learn so much from them too.
If you want to find out more about “World Creativity and Innovation Day”, please see the link below, this year’s theme was – “Step out and Innovate”.