My mentor, Mr. F, is so very inspiring. He came up to me when I was supposed to be doing a very menial task, and asked me about the moment I realized I was mortal. I told him it was when I started doing things for myself, and not just for quick rewards. He told me it was when his cat died at the tender age of 7. We talked about death. I told him that the reason technology exists is because man kind needs to busy themselves with tasks to keep from thinking about their own deaths. He vehemently disagreed. He disagreed on a very fundamental level, and that was that we define happiness differently. He said that happiness was in the moment, and not something that can be planned and then achieved. If one treats death like the unspoken deadline for happiness, one will never find it. This is because happiness is in the moment.
Now, I probably took the wrong thing from this. I felt inspired to actually go to the library and study like I had originally intended with my evening. Except, instead of punishing myself like I thought I would do, I would be doing it to embrace my bliss. I can't treat my tasks like its just another thing I have to check off the list until death, I have to embrace the journey. I feel my anxiety relieving itself already.
This is really what a mentor should do. He took a moment and discussed the philosophy of life and asked me if being a rocket scientist is really what will make me happy. I think yes, it will.