Orwell was right: big brother is watching us. No matter the time of the day, the place, or whether we’ve been nice all year round (like I still believe in Santa), there are situations beyond our control. Like that night when I finally decided to follow the signs and become a part of the writing community. Lights off, no signal, and total darkness. Ministry of Love, I know that was you. Or maybe the electricity company… Guilty! Conspiracy theories excite me more than the image of white-collar guys printing out the bills in the office.

I managed to get to the company’s website after all. When I just started working for UvoCorp, I was assigned a Mentor right after my sample paper was approved. It was something about Mars… I remember I was so obsessed with Elon Musk at that time. I even watched a live broadcast of his team sending Tesla sports car into space. Mr. Mask, you are my hero (and thank you for making my sample paper stand out of the crowd; at least, that’s what I think). Oh, Jenny, modesty has totally left you behind.

Just like any writer, I had a strong belief that I didn’t need any Mentor to correct the mistakes (what mistakes?) in my papers, teach me how to make the flow of ideas smoother, and give me the links to the citation guides or dictionaries. My overconfidence tricked me. When I have a toothache, I do not self-medicate. I search for professional assistance. I would lie if I told you that seeing my writer’s bid divided between me and my Mentor didn’t hurt my feelings. After all, money is what I came here for. But I wanted to move up from College level to the highest one possible. I wanted to get more well-paid orders and returned customers.

The more I was working under the guidance of my Mentor, the clearer I saw the difference between Jenny-who-thought-she-knew-it-all and Jenny-who-could-come-up-with-a-strong-thesis-statement. Of course, there are talented people who just know all the rules of academic writing and can easily put their thoughts on paper. Like, 1%. The remaining 99%, including me, should listen and learn.

I can’t tell you how happy I was when one sunny morning I received a message. That was one of those days when you manage to make a perfect size/taste cup of coffee. When, you know, the amount of foam is just right, you didn’t go hard with sugar as usual, and after two weeks of eating chicken breast and broccoli, you are finally holding a freshly baked chocolate croissant… And the message on the screen warms your heart like none of the St. Valentine’s day gift cards could do.

Dear Jenny,

We sincerely congratulate you on your graduation from the MP! We believe you have made progress in your writing, were quite attentive to mentor’s remarks and advice, and improved your writing skills!

Tears of joy, guys, tears of joy! That was my little victory. If you are not tired of me yet (like my relatives are bored with my witty jokes on the Christmas Eve, every Christmas Eve to be honest…), I would like to share the story of how I made it from a College level applicant to a (Mentors Quality Control quote) “good (I love that ‘good’) Master’s level.”