Dear future self,

I hope this message finds you well.

I know, this has been a tough semester — but you made it! You should be proud of how you used the studio setting as a platform to make tiny moves towards transforming your mindset. Remember when you had to present a case clinic in front of the whole class and let yourself be vulnerable? It was exactly three months ago. More than anyone, I know how you felt uncomfortable sharing your self-criticism and asking for help. By making that first move, you allowed yourself to open spaces of trust and genuine feedback from your peers — and they became fundamental pieces in the puzzle (the assemblage of the group makes the accomplishment so much bigger and more relevant, don’t you think?). Although sometimes it felt harder to filter in positive comments (and those negative were as resistant as an earworm in your head), as well as engaging on Roger’s activities (they are not more than icebreakers, we all know now), I can see that your mind is much more elastic. You were even able to demonstrate that in your group work, by being more flexible about the uncertainties of outcomes and enjoying more the process with your team. That helped you acknowledging different concepts and taking more risks than usual, even if sometimes you were not convinced about the ideas at all.

This studio was unexpected for both of us. It was such a conscious learning experiment! More than doing what was predetermined for you as a student (I just checked the syllabus and the list of responsibilities you had as a candidate), you made efforts to embrace the idea of a growth mindset yourself. I hope you can take this idea further on, and practice it constantly, in a proactive condition.

That said, I think I am ready to suggest you a grade. You and I know that grades are silly inventions; however, since they exist, I believe you demonstrated why you deserve an A. Well done!

Warm regards and a great winter break!

December 16, 2015.