Sage Robbins  

May 22, 2020 

Final TPOL  
 
Freshman year has changed my life. Attending high school was a seismic shift, both 
socially and academically. Animas High School has helped me have freedom within the work I 
complete. For my TPOL this year I chose to write an essay because throughout the year I have 
become more excited about writing. This year I learned so much about myself. After careful 
evaluation, I believe I changed for the better. I also know that this year helped me advocate 
more and be proud of the work I create. Furthermore, I have developed the valuable skill of 
perseverance. Finally, I know my learning style has changed because I am way more 
open-minded towards new things.  
  
The most difficult thing that I did this year was making the decision to leave most of my 
friends to go to Animas High School. At first I was worried that I would have no friends and be 
miserable. I worried because I am a textbook example of an extrovert, and I live off of my 
friends and social life. I had a ton of friends in middle school that were all planning to go to 
Durango High School, and this weighed on my mind when trying to decide which high school I 
was going to pick. I thought about this momentous decision for a while. In the end, however, I 
realized that Animas suited me more academically. I knew deep down that I would meet new 
friends, and I would be just as social. Still, it was extremely hard for me to let go of my old 
friends and know that I wouldn’t be able to see them as much as I did in middle school. I did 
miss them, but after a few weeks, I made a lot of new friends. At Animas, I was happy to 
discover that I was able to act just as socially as I did in middle school. Soon I built great 
connections throughout the school. I persevered through my loneliness and discomfort by 
trying to talk to as many new people as possible. In this pursuit, I joined Student Council, 
Interact, and the Ambassador’s Program. I soon made tons of friends through these programs. 
Though it was tough at the beginning, I fought to make new friends. And I now know that I 
made the right decision to attend Animas High.  
 
Out of all of the Habits of Heart and Mind, advocacy has helped me be an extremely 
successful student at Animas this year. When I was stuck or had a problem, I wasn't shy in the 
slightest bit to ask for help. Every time I needed clarification, help, or a break, I asked Stephen, 
and this helped me be an extremely successful student in my mind. You could also ask 
Stephen, and he'd probably say that I asked for something just about every day. It’s true that 
sometimes he was annoyed when I asked for multiple things. Nevertheless, he always gave me 
the best advice that helped me thrive. This year it was extremely beneficial whenever I asked 
for help in Humanities (and all my other classes). When I needed clarification, I asked for it, and 
this helped me complete all my work and fulfill my personal needs as a student. Even the little 
things I asked for helped me to be successful. For example, sometimes I asked to take a break 
or a little walk. This helped me be successful because I am not the type of person who can 
work nonstop without a break. Breaks help me focus and get a lot more work done. In my 
mind, I am extremely lucky to be able to ask for help. Advocacy helped me complete and turn 
my work in on time. Most importantly, however, advocacy helped me effectively understand all 
of my classes' content.  
 
This school year my learning style changed because I became far more open minded. 
Before coming into high school, I wasn't very fond of humanities. Instead, I was bummed that 
humanities took up a big chunk of my day. In fact, my whole life I grew up disliking reading and 
writing; so, my attitude at the start of this year was poor. I also had a bad attitude towards 
learning Spanish as it was my first year taking it, and I found the subject matter extremely 
confusing. You could say I was extremely closed minded and did not want anything to do with 
Humanities or Spanish. As the year went on I enjoyed a few things. Yet, I still wasn’t enjoying 
most of the reading or writing we did. The main reason I wasn’t optimistic or open-minded 
towards writing was that I had never had freedom within my writing. In the past, my teachers 
would assign essays with strict topics. Whether the topic was something boring or something I 
liked, I still despised writing because I didn't have the freedom to choose. 
However, when Stephen assigned the mask project I was very optimistic. My attitude 
was different than it had been during the beginning of the year. Honestly, I was most excited 
about making the mask itself—but also a little intrigued about writing the socialization essay. 
While writing the essay, my whole mind-set shifted. I realized that because I had never been so 
free when writing something in my life. I got to write my essay about me, my thoughts, and my 
feelings. This sparked some optimism and open-mindedness towards writing. I say this 
because I got to be free, and I was in charge of my work. Ever since the mask project ended, I 
have been eager to write about a topic of my own choosing rather than an assigned topic. 
Lastly, I truly believe I have become more open-minded towards new things, and I am eager for 
new opportunities in the future.  

In the same vein, the work that I am the proudest of this year is definitely my mask 
essay. I began this project by making a “shifty” first draft. To be honest, I thought the first draft 
resembled garbage. After the 3rd or 4th draft, however, I was starting to really enjoy the work I 
had created because I poured a countless number of hours into the essay. I worked hard 
because I wanted to use the freedom I had been given to say something important about my 
socialization. When I completed draft number seven I was immensely relieved because it was 
my final draft. I am most proud of the evidence I gave for my claims as it was 100 percent 
honest and meaningful. For example, one of my claims was how I had been socialized through 
my food allergies. I started with a ton of evidence, but in my mind, the key evidence that I 
stated was that I was socialized to always be careful of what I eat. My food allergies (and their 
effect on my life today) is crucial to me because if I eat something I am allergic to it could 
possibly be fatal. Another huge reason I am proud of my work is because of the vulnerability I 
showed in my essay. I had really never written about my personal problems or shared them 
with my class. For example, I wrote about my parents divorcing at a young age, and how that 
affected my life. It made me feel very open and trusted as Animas’s culture implements that. 
Finally, the last thing I was proud of was the revisions, and the amount of time I spent making 
the essay a beautiful piece of work that I was proud of. The final draft showed an immense 
amount of effort, and it was the best essay I had ever written. I am proud that I worked 
diligently, and I definitely believe that it was the most effort I have ever used in a single essay or 
humanities project. I also showed that I cared during the project as I worked extremely hard. 
Most importantly I am extremely proud of the work I made.  

To wrap up this year, I wrote an essay. If you knew me at the beginning of the year, this 
very choice is insane. In the past I despised writing or doing anything that involved writing. This 
goes to show that Animas has changed me into a better student, as I now am way more 
open-minded. More importantly, I have learned how to solve my problems independently. This 
has helped me be more independent in my work and only ask for help when extremely needed. 
I have learned to advocate for myself. Advocation is one of the biggest roles of my success at 
Animas and I am so lucky to be able to use that skill every day. Lastly, Animas really helped me 
be proud of the work I create. I say this because usually most of the work I create at Animas is 
very genuine, and Animas has helped me understand and commemorate that.