Question: What’s the best advice you have received from a teacher or any Brownell Talbot-affiliated adult?
Olivia’s Answer: The best piece of advice I ever received was from a Mrs. Vetter: “You are in this position (or are in this situation) for a reason.” This can be interpreted many ways like in sports or even school. In sports, for example, imagine you’re the starting quarterback and you begin to doubt whether you’re truly fit for the role. This advice reminds you that you’re the starting quarterback for a reason. The coaches believe in your abilities, which is why they chose for that position. You have to believe in yourself, too. If you don’t believe in yourself than no one else will. Your mindset can make or break your performance. Often, it’s not your physical skills that hold you back, it’s your mentality. So trust yourself, because the people around you already do. This advice also applies to school. Maybe you’re in an advanced class (like AP classes) and you start to feel like you don’t belong. Remember, you’re in that class for a reason. Your teachers and counselors know you can handle the challenge, or they wouldn’t have recommended it. Everyone sees your potential; now you just need to see it in yourself. Success often depends on mindset, believing that you’re capable, even when things get tough. Life will always bring challenges, but don’t let them overpower your confidence or limit what you can achieve. Your mindset is the key to unlocking your potential. Don’t let negative thoughts outweigh your possibilities. The people who truly care about you believe in your value, so believe in it yourself, too.
Corinne’s Answer: The best piece/word of advice I received was from Mrs. Navarro, who I have been with for 6 years: “You are young, take your time and enjoy it, don’t lose sight of who you are.” Taking our time to enjoy our lives while we’re young is often taken for granted. Often, when we get too strung up in external problems, they may be ours or problems we’ve wrongfully taken upon ourselves to carry the burden. Every day, we’re surrounded by the media, heavily biased opinions telling us who and what to believe about who knows. The thing about our lives is, they’re ours, and we can choose what to tune into and what not to. It’s understandably easy to get caught up in the web of distraught and strong-minded comments, even though it’s crucial to keep in mind that the point of living is to live. We are easily influenced beings meant to have interaction and strong-hearted connections, and those connections build the foundation of a blossoming relationship. Relationships shape who we are and who we want to be. A reframe for this idea would be considering the circumstances in a more formalized environment, for instance, our time in the work environment or school, can easily be taken for granted, considering our surroundings are entangled with high-paced distractions that keep us on our toes. Moving throughout your day with a sense of certainty feeds the mind healthily, striving for ambition, a nature that’s always already been within us. Burnout and exhaustion are our human response to non-stop effort in our brains, although it’s often overlooked in the heat of our pile of work. It’s important to note that burnout and exhaustion are just human signals for our self-regulation of our stress levels. Overbooking on top of a heavy workload leads to strenuous behaviors; be wary of your body’s signals telling you when you’ve had enough.
Angel’s answer: The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is from Mrs. Rise, who I’ve had both inside and outside of the classroom: “Growth does not come from comfort.” This quote has stayed with me since my freshman year and continues to shape the way I approach every challenge. At first, I didn’t fully understand what it meant. But over time through studying for AP classes, extracurricular competitions, and moments of self-doubt, it really began to make sense. Growth isn’t supposed to feel easy, it happens when I push myself past what’s familiar and face the uncomfortable parts of learning and life head-on. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed, whether it’s balancing schoolwork with college applications or multiple extracurriculars, I come back to that phrase. It reminds me that the discomfort I’m feeling isn’t a sign of failure, it’s proof that I’m growing. This advice has changed the way I see setbacks, and making them into opportunities to learn. It’s helped me build confidence in my ability to handle whatever comes next, and to embrace the idea that stepping into the unknown is how I’ll keep growing, not just as a student, but as a person. As I prepare for the next chapter of my life, that phrase continues to stick with me. I know there will be new challenges waiting in college and beyond, but instead of being scared of them them, I’ll try my best to welcome them as opportunities to grow into a stronger, more resilient version of myself.
