I Want to DO This

I've had all of this stuff rolling around in my head, and I hope I don't seem too whiny in this post, but I really want to DO this designer thing. You see I had a mentor. I say HAD because over time I just heard from her less and less. It took me a little longer than it should have on an assignment or two because life got in the way, so at first I thought I just wasn't putting enough into it.

I e-mailed my mentor to ask her to let me know if there was something more I should be doing or if I could change some things to make it more convenient for her. You see, she was a winner of a certain big contest that just announced new winners recently, so I just thought she was getting busier with that stuff than she had anticipated. I sent layouts to be critiqued...it dwindled down to no response. I thought she just didn't have time to mentor anymore. Well, I would have been totally fine with thinking that, but I recently saw a post on a message board saying that she had been an awesome mentor for someone else during a recent process.

Now, I'm going to go back and delete any reference I ever made to my mentor because this is totally not a post about how she was a horrible person or even a bad mentor. What I have been thinking about is how I can be a better mentee. Did I do something wrong? Was I difficult to work with? Was I just not learning? Grrr... You see what I mean about thoughts rolling around now?

All this is to really say I want to DO this. I want a mentor. I want a mentor who will be excited to work with me and who will work me. I want a mentor who has a good eye for design principles. I think design is more important than individual style any day. I want a guide and a teacher and a sounding board. Now my problem is how to go about doing this. I could post a wanted thread a Two Peas, but then no one would want to admit they are good enough to be a mentor, and then there would be lots of "me toos" and in the end someone would post that I should find someone I'd like to work with and e-mail them directly. Can you tell this has been done before?

There are just so many talented ladies out there, and I know many of them do have a lot on their plates. I guess I just have to suck it up and start making a list, and try to decide who to contact. I just wish there were a way to know who is really interested and eager to work with someone like me.

Now comes the part where I assume someone is still reading my blabbing and as if you all have any ideas? I've really been thinking this through, so I'm sort of just getting some thoughts out in type right now. I'll post if I get any bright ideas--you do the same-k-?