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Zoe Jeffrey 

May 23rd 

Prompt: What are the most important things that you learned in AGS this year? 
 

My Changed Perception of Myself, and How it Taught me to See Through Walls 

Sophomore year of AGS has undoubtedly changed me forever, in that it has 

made me more aware of my actions both in and out of the classroom, and taught 

me how to troubleshoot in the real world. However, even more than that, this year 

has permuted my perception of myself. Where once, I lacked confidence and 

comprehension, I now thrive. Where once, I doubted my own abilities, I now 

optimistically welcome new methods of teaching that cater to ​my l​ earning style. 

Where once, I had an inert fixed mindset, I now have a growth mindset. This 

philosophy has affected me on a very personal level, and I’m better for it, as a 

student and an individual.  

Much of what inspired the major change in my perception of myself is the 

material that we studied this year, that taught me truths about myself. For our 

summer assignment, we read​ Life of Pi ​by Yann Martel. I read quite a bit, especially 

for someone my age, but I rarely stray from the fiction and fantasy books. L
​ ife of Pi 

forced me out of my comfort zone, and made me consider an entirely new genre 

that I would grow to love this year: famous literature. Last year, in English I, we 

analyzed famous literature, such as L

​ ord of the Flies​ by William Golding. I’d never 
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tried this before, and I loved it from the start. I’ve always thrived in English class, but I 

soon learned that my passion in English is analyzing literature. I find great 

satisfaction in the last sentence of every novel, because it pushes me to consider 

every thought the author has, and what they truly mean to convey in their work. The 

next book I l fell in love with this year was the T

​ he Alchemist ​by Paulo Coelho, and it 

blew my mind. I had never read anything like it before, and suddenly, I was 

recalculating my perception of the world, and seeing through a new lens. While this 

may have seemed like a tangent, I thought it important to include in this essay, 

because this was the first time I realized I had a passion within the realm of English in 

school. This inspired me to delve deeper into everything I read, and appreciate an 

author’s efforts to convey a truth. I began reaching out of my comfort zone in my 

other studies, and pushing myself to try new things and recognize new perspectives 

(an AGS pillar). This became the theme of my sophomore year, and shaped me into 

the thinker, student, and individual I’ve become today.  

My eyes were opened and my perception irrevocably changed when I visited 

Costa Rica with the sophomore class of AGS. We flew there as part of our first 

semester unit, dealing with waste management, but we left with far more valuable 

memories. With my best friend and our chaperone group, I traveled through Costa 

Rica, and saw the side of the country that isn’t a wanderlust vacation destination. We 

were thrown into a brand new setting where our actions had real consequences. In 

Costa Rica, I realized that there are people not so different from us, that are living 

poverty, and yet still somehow have a warmth in their hearts that is unparalleled to 
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anything I’ve ever witnessed. Although the trip was educationally rewarding, the 

memories we made with the locals taught us so much more. We learned about 

humanity while we were there, and the value of a community. We visited a nursing 

home, just down the road from the indigenous tribe of Bribri that we stayed with for 

a night. At this nursing home were locals who spoke only spanish, and our teachers 

threw us in with no warning. My best friend Riley and I put our poor spanish to the 

test, and for some odd reason, we made a very real human connection with an old 

man named Salvador. I doubt I’ll soon forget this day when I realized that human 

connection transcends language barriers. In a nearly ironic way, we explored the 

AGS pillar of communicating ideas on that day. Although my spanish was broken, I 

was able to show Salvador that I was trying, and that spoke volumes. This trip 

altered my perception of the world around me, by exposing us to lifestyles outside 

of ours. As I met more locals and grew more attached to beautiful Costa Rica, I 

began to rethink my identity, and the questions I thought I’d answered long ago. Is 

one’s worth predetermined by where they come from? Or, is it earned, from years of 

brightening the lives of those around them, like Salvador, or my finca, Chepita? I 

decided then, that I would take a page out of Salvador’s book, and open my mind to 

strangers and spontaneous experiences that may just change my life. This was the 

genesis of my resolution to investigate the world (another AGS pillar).  

The activities we’ve done to apply information in class have challenged me 

and pushed me out of my comfort zone. So, success in these activities is all the more 

rewarding; thus, I gain confidence, and perceive improvement in myself. One 

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challenging activity that we often use in English is the socratic seminar or “fishbowl”. 

This activity leaves no wallflower behind, and pushes students who struggle with 

speaking in front of a crowd. Before this year, I had severe anxiety about public 

speaking, mostly because I felt out of control of my body. I would get lightheaded, 

shake uncontrollably, stammer and even cry sometimes. I knew that the only way 

out of this was through, so I threw myself into these activities. Little by little, I would 

share more, speak louder, and delve deeper every time I spoke. I started making 

excellent grades on socratic seminars. Now, I love them, and I feel comfortable in my 

own body. My classmates in English even look up to me now. This success inspired 

so much confidence in me, and made me realize that I can thrive in any environment 

if I give myself the chance to learn how. I now perceive myself to be much stronger 

and more capable because of this. 

Throughout sophomore year, my changing perception manifested itself in 

concepts we looked about in the beginning of the year. In an article by Mark Gerzon, 

we learned about Global Intelligences (GIs), and what it means to increase your GQ. 

We defined Global Intelligence as “the human capacities that enable us to coexist 

and co-create with people different than ourselves”. Mark gerzon wrote about many 

different GIs, but a few made me realize how much I’ve self-actualized this past year. 

At the beginning of the year, I was struck by one of the intelligences Gerzon 

mentioned, called “Learn to See Through Walls.” I love this notion because it’s the 

overarching idea that acts as an umbrella for many other GIs. Gerzon explores the 

idea that demarcation is an illusion that one can learn to see through by 
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acknowledging that subjective ideologies are just that, and don’t change the fact 

that we’re all a part of a global community- full of similar opinions and common 

interests. Though my full interpretation of this GI is a bit lengthy, it rings true to all 

that I’ve learned this year. We often set limits for ourselves that hold us back 

unnecessarily. In the past, I’ve convinced myself I’m not capable of things I’ve never 

tried to overcome. I applied this GI in Costa Rica as well, when I realized that locals 

like Salvador -who couldn’t seem more different from me- are actually pretty similar 

to myself. We are all created equal in this world, and drawing barriers between 

peoples and within oneself is just a hindrance to individual growth. The truth I 

learned from my reflection on global intelligence is that one’s perception of self is a 

malleable thing. It grows and changes as we grow, so building character builds a 

more confident and positive perception of oneself.  

It’s interesting to recall the beginning of sophomore year, when I pondered 

what my final thought about the year would be. I even considered that we’d have to 

write an essay about it like this. So really, I’ve been planning the last line of this essay 

since I discovered my love for the last line of every novel. And so I’ll leave it at this, I 

entered this year nervous and anxious and narrow-minded, but ready to learn. As I 

near the very end of my sophomore year, I’m studying for 8 different finals and 

cramming as much as possible- often staying up until 4:00 am. And yet, I’ll miss it, 

but I won’t forget the confidence it’s brought to me. I am a changed person and a 

better student because of this year, and now with my new perception of self, I’ll grab 

junior year by the balls. 

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