Valentina Gutirrez

Beth Thurber
Advisory
May 23, 2016
Senior Year Habit of Mind Summary
Senior year has been an exciting blur. I slightly remember the first day of school, the new
advisory space (a closet), visiting Prudence (Beths) Island, Thanksgiving at Beths house,
receiving my college decisions, and, more recently, camping and prom night. In the back of my
mind are events like presenting to Brown University MAT students, presenting to all of the
Blackstone faculty, Exhibition Night, and hosting the community screening of TRAPPED. The
truth, however, is that senior year has been mostly social over academic. Instead of writing 5
essays in English, we bonded over stories, speeches, and plays. Instead of creating multiple
presentations in Civics, we debated (formally and informally) the issues that matter to us most.
Senior year has been a time for friendship, reconciliation, and new experiences. Consequently,
Ive grown as a person.
For one, Ive grown as a leader. As student body president two years running, Ive had
ample time to test my leadership and collaboration skills. Collaboration is defined as working
successfully with others by listening empathically, leading sensitively, contributing meaningfully,
and learning from group members. I used to be a high strung leader. Passive aggressiveness
was my number one way to deal with issues. That, or just doing my partners work. Today, I
know that before ordering anyone around, its vital to establish relationships and encourage
open conversation. My work in Student Government also ties into zest, which is, participating
enthusiastically and passionately; invigorating others, as Tony emailed me and let me know
that Ive been doing a good job and that everyone seems to be benefitting from the more relaxed
atmosphere -- as theyve all been speaking up more often.

Sometimes I still take the bulk of responsibility. For example, for the Lock-In, I took care
of permission slips, daily reminders, selling tickets, buying all of the supplies, ordering the food,
keeping track of the money, and organizing the chaperones. In truth, I didnt really trust my
representatives to do this themselves, which kept me from potentially learning from them.
Indeed, collaboration is a Habit of Mind that Im still practicing.
The next Habit of Mind is community engagement, which is defined as active
participation in the school, local, state, and global communities. As usual, Ive stayed very
involved in the school community through Student Government, which included the planning of
a school Lock-In and multiple Spirit Weeks. In addition to this, I became involved in my local
community by organizing a local screening of TRAPPED, a sundance film about reproductive
health and abortion rights. I put up posters at the library, local cafes, and Browns campus.
Although I do not directly act in my state or global community, I act as an active participant by
staying informed about topics such as charter school funding, reproductive health, the
presidential race, and more.
While community engagement is rather easy and enjoyable for me, creativity is not. Yet,
this year, Ive been forced to be creative. Creativity is defined as the ability to, think flexibly
reconsider ideas, solve problems by taking appropriate risks, and discover more about oneself
through the process. When it came to hosting a showing of TRAPPED, I had to somehow
convince a school full of low-income, students of color, from predominantly Christian
households that abortion and reproductive justice are matters that should matter to them -- this,
no doubt, required some appropriate risk taking. This also tied into upstanderness, which is
demonstrating active compassion, even when afraid or in front of a crowd (or especially in front
of a crowd); righting a wrong; helping those who are situationally disempowered. First, I had to

make an effort to normalize abortion (and even the word abortion). I did this by sending out
daily videos about who gets abortions (statistically) and why. I shared videos about TRAP laws,
womens personal experiences, and excerpts from articles by abortion providers. My project
undoubtedly left some people uncomfortable (sometimes including me) and that forced me to
reconsider my ideas and look through the lens of different perspectives, which I hope only led to
more open conversations.
Although Ive learned how to utilize most Habits of Mind, I am still working on
gratitude, which is showing appreciation for others and for ones opportunities. Once per year,
students have the chance to officially thank their teachers during Teacher National Appreciation
Week. Stressed and preoccupied with my senior project, I forgot to fill out the slips -- even
though I feel very privileged to have the teachers I have. I also missed my opportunity to thank
some of my college interviewers. However, I did show gratitude for my advisor, Beth, by making
her an advisory video.
Grit (persevering despite difficulties; finishing what is started; working independently
with focus and intensity), unlike gratitude, has always been my strong suit. Even after my father
moved back in, I continued to focus on my school work instead of his sometimes irritating
presence. I even managed to apply to colleges and put together a senior paper and project.
Speaking of my senior paper, I persevered even after finding that the majority of research tends
to focus on the educational experiences of boys of color. In my project, I persisted even after it
became clear that there were very few -- if any -- organizations that were willing to work with
me on something as specific as the suspension and tracking of children of color. Grit, I hope, will
continue to serve me for the rest of my life.

Like gratitude, I have been working on humility, which is awareness that everyone has
strengths and weaknesses. Humbly acknowledging success while bravely confronting ones
weaknesses and encouraging others who do the same. I still find it hard not to critique others, at
least in terms of work ethic. However, with my severe onset of senioritis, and subsequent
slacking off and procrastinating, Ive found a level of camaraderie with my fellow seniors who
are similarly burnt out after some extraneous four years at Blackstone. Ive also accepted that I
am rather incapable of showing up to anything before 8:30 a.m., that I am a terrible storyteller,
and I am very hardheaded. I acknowledge my faults, but I prefer to talk about them rather
jokingly because, as Tony once said, talking about my flaws too seriously would be very
depressing. Nevertheless, I have embraced the fact that I am not perfect and never will be the
best at anything. I hope I keep this mindset through college.
Integrity is defined as telling the truth to (or being honest with) oneself and others
through ones words and actions, even when it's difficult. One example of when I showed
integrity is when I gave my Why Education is Important speech in English class. Through this
assignment, I admitted to my peers why education plays such an important role in my life, and
how Ive often used it to work through my problems -- whether it be moving to another
apartment or helping my mom find a job. This speech was difficult to give, because many of my
peers have long had the impression that I lead a perfect life. Nevertheless, I told them the
entire and unedited truth.
Optimism, like grit, is an automatic Habit of Mind for me. Although it may not always
seem like I focus on whats right with the world, my dedication to bettering the world around me
shows that I believe that [my] life, community, and world can get better with effort. Ive shown
that I believe that the world can get better with effort through my senior project. Indeed, if I did

not think that my teachers could address their subconscious biases, then I wouldnt have spent
100+ hours working towards that goal.
Organization is another Habit of Mind that I have mastered. Without it, I would not have
been able to prioritize my work and get my assignments turned in on time. Consequently, I
would not have gotten the grades, opportunities, and acceptances that I did. The only aspect of
organization that I continually struggle with is timeliness, especially in the morning.
Unlike thinking of a time in which my organization skills have failed me, its hard to
think of one specific moment in which I have self-advocated. Self-Advocacy is defined as,
being the director of ones own life; demonstrating agency to become empowered. One time
this year during which I acted as a self-advocate was after my Harvard alumni interview with
Angela Romans, during which I learned that she and I share the same passions for increasing
educational opportunity and equality. As a result, I emailed her my senior paper and
consequently learned more about the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown
University -- a resource I did not even know existed.
Wellness, like gratitude and humility have been Habits of Mind that I have bettered but
have yet to master. In terms of wellness, however, which is defined as actively working to
maintain a healthy mind, body and soul. Focusing on sleep, nutrition, exercise, and managing
stress in an effort to reach peak performance, senior year has been one of my best years. I never
slept as much as I did this year; I took long naps multiple times per week (these naps, of course,
were the result of long days at school.) In addition to napping more, I finally took a real fitness
class and started going to the gym with Jeana! Soon afterwards, I started going to the gym with
Juan and taking into consideration the food I eat. This last month has been difficult and busy,
however, I plan to continue being physically active over the summer. Senior year has not been

any less stressful than the years prior, but I got through the year without any (memorable)
breakdowns! Instead of staying up until four a.m. regularly, I gave my assignments my best only
until I was too exhausted to go on, and then I fell asleep. I therefore feel confident saying that
my level of wellness this year has been great.
Although sometimes stressful, senior year has been my best year at Blackstone.
Moreover, even though I still have some work to do, I feel confident that I have grown so much.
I cannot wait to see how I will continue to blossom, and how I can repay Blackstone Academy
and all of my teachers and mentors in the future.