Against All Odds

"Hey there! So, I noticed you've been reading my best friend's (foxinsocks) story, and giving her amazing feedback. I just wanted to say thank you because she's been really happy that she's been getting so much good feedback, and I love it when she's happy so thanks! :)"

It was the best message I'd ever received on my Wattpad wall, and it was all because I'd decided to adopt foxinsocks as my own little protegee.

Truthfully, I'm not really qualified to call her that. I'm nobody special. I'm an amateur writer with big dreams and a little bit of vision to keep that passion burning. But, other than an open heart and a little bit of knowledge about the English language, I wasn't someone trusted to give advice. So when I opened foxinsocks' first story, I didn't expect to make a big difference in anyone's life. All I did was give her some writing advice. I did what I wanted someone to do for me. I didn't realize how much that would affect my life, and my confidence.

How do you label a bond that by all other standards has no name? How do you perceive a relationship that can't even be sensed?

When foxinsocks' best friend commented on my wall, I thought I knew. I thought it was the feeling of having strangers thank you for the impact you've had on their lives. I figured there was no better high than the recognition I'd just received from a girl halfway across the world. I was wrong.

A few days later, foxinsocks' published the third chapter of her latest novel. My jaw dropped. I hadn't noticed just how much she had progressed since that first story, but upon reading that one chapter I realized it. Every aspect of her writing had improved, from her vocabulary to her grammar to her structure and the extent to which she revealed the details of her plot.

My reaction? You scrap this and I'll hunt you down.

That's the true sign of being a mentor: watching your protegee soar in ways you never had the chance to, and being proud of her for it. In that instant, I felt like a mom, watching her kid drive off for college. She didn't really need me anymore, but I had been there when she had. Seeing her succeed: that's the ultimate high.

I've never met her. She lives halfway around the world, and I don't even know her real name, but maybe that's what makes our relationship what it is today. Two strangers, from different countries, pulled together to help and support one another, against all odds.