Sunday, October 10, 2021

Rude Mentee

I have 41 mentees, bless them, and it would be naive of me not to expect any problems. One of them is having laptop problems, and wants to know if the university will provide him one. Which is fine, except that he has been rude in his emails with me. In his last email, he told me to make sure that he got a laptop when it was made available and to try to keep him updated on the situation. That email pissed me off, but I replied with a "will do", which I shouldn't have (20-20 hind vision). Today, he mailed to check for updates and although the mail wasn't rude, it raised my hackles. I know this is me over-reacting to a minor situation due to stresses in other parts of my life. And, what do I know about the student? Troubled background, financial troubles, who knows his story? And, chances are I won't be able to give much mental space to this particular problem, since I have plenty of other issues vying for attention. Its just that these overreactions can feel overwhelming in the moment. but, the moments pass eventually. 

No comments: