Illustration by Rose Feduk
“Mentoring Young LA”
Long Beach Union Weekly
by Marco Beltran
March 3, 2014
As students, our minds are constantly focused on one thing: advancement toward the goal of reaching an ideal sense of self. Whether that be socio-economical or professional, our lives tend to be a centered around our futures and the realization thereof, as opposed to the future of our society. It sounds a little bad to put it that way because it seems like a generalization about what the people do with their free time or that this issue should move up in the “My Lists”or queues of life above our usual priorities and responsibilities. I’m not taking some high-and-mighty stance on this issue, though. I’ve just recently come to the realization that though I cease to be involved with college once I leave it, or friends once they’ve moved off to internships across the country, or clubs once I abandon them, these things continue to exist independently of me. These things will continue to be a part of life long after I’m forgotten and dead. What I’m trying to say is that once you, me, or we reach a point where we’re comfortable with our abilities, we should start looking for ways to move on to the next tier of life, where we give back using the expertise we’ve uncovered through general life experience. For a lot of people, the way to give back is through volunteering. That’s where 826LA comes in.
My initial introduction to 826LA was through podcasts. As a writer aspiring to make the jump into the semi-visual mediums of comics and television, one of my favorite podcasts—in terms of understanding the impetus of an idea for a creator and the journey an idea can take to become something tangible—is the Nerdist Writers Panel, where, at the end of every episode, host Ben Blacker thanks 826LA for existing. And that’s where my thoughts about the organization ended: this amorphous thing coming into my ears every week. It wasn’t until I learned my good friend Leo Portugal, former Union editor and all-around cool dude, was volunteering for 826LA that the space started taking shape.
I needed that one person (in my case Leo) to make the place tangible, and that’s what I’m hoping this feature will become for anyone that picks it up: jumping off point that will make 826LA a viable place for students looking for something worthwhile before and after graduation.