Torrance Journal for Applied Creativity

of hamburgers on the grill. All these
things are examples of mindfulness and
things you could practice every day.”
Another student described
mindfulness as “enjoying the moment
and taking the time to stop and enjoy
the warm breeze or enjoying the sweet
crisp taste of an apple.”
Another shared, “Mindfulness
is about not thinking what class you
have next but enjoying the present.
Instead of thinking about lunch or what
class we have next, I will listen. When
we’re eating dinner, instead of eating
really fast, I am going to enjoy being
with my family. When I’m sitting still
doing something, I will focus on the
something.”
A student described a quote
she found during the research process.
She shared, “My favorite quote I found
during this project was, ‘Think that
you’re in the future looking back on today,
would you have made that choice?
You know that if yesterday is the past,
now must be the future.’ I forgot who
it’s by, but it reminds me of how I
should live, in the present."
Another shared, “Throughout
these activities I have learned so much,
but I also made some connections with
some of the books. The book What
Does it Mean to be Present? is one of the
books I made connections with like not
worrying about the past or the future.
Many other books gave me ideas and
suggestions on how to look at things
differently that I am using in life. I love
doing these projects.”
For the poetry slam, a young lady presented
the following poem:
“Experience”
Look around you
Smell the green grass
Breathe the soft breeze
Experience this moment.
No worries
Everything is okay
Nobody knows what tomorrow brings!
So calm down and see
Listen to the wind
Concentrate on the sky
See how blue it is?
See how peaceful?
Take it all in
Piece by piece
Live, laugh, love
Experience this moment.
Growth Mindset. Students
described how important it was to have
a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed
mindset. One described, “Whenever I
get a bad grade, I’ve learned to accept it
and move on. I know I will do better
next time. You can never get rid of your
knowledge!” Another described how
reading one of the picture books about
growth mindset impacted her:
I think the most important thing I
learned was that it’s okay to fail.
The Rosie Revere, Engineer book
impacted me greatly. I have a huge
fear of failure, and the thought of
me embarrassing myself in front
of people terrifies me (that’s why I
hate presenting). In Rosie Revere,
Engineer, Rosie shared my fear of
failure. However, she overcomes
this fear when someone tells her
that it’s okay to mess up, and that
Rosie actually did pretty good. But,
obviously, that’s not how life works.
I mean, even if everyone tells me
“It’s okay you stuttered in your presentation,”
I wouldn’t really believe
them. I guess that’s partly me being
a perfectionist, but instead of trying
to make perfect circles I’m trying to
make myself perfect. However, deep
down, I know it’s okay to mess up.
One student chose to address the topic
through a poem:
“Growth Mindset”
Failure
Helps me learn
From mistakes
No discouragement
I will help my mind
Learn and grow
Resilience. Several students
chose to write about resilience for their
final products. One girl wrote the following
3 line poem:
Another wrote:
“Resilience”
I take careful steps
Having the ability,
To bounce back at times.
Resilience
Happiness, joy, carefree
No worries, positive feelings
Bouncing back from the bad
Lifted spirits
I am resilient
Imposter Syndrome. Several
students described being able to connect
to experiences of not feeling adequate.
One girl shared,
Another thing that really impacted
me was the Imposter Syndrome,
which I can also relate to greatly. I
mean, what honors kid doesn’t ask
themselves “Am I really that smart?”
when they don’t do good on a test?
Another student shared this poem:
”Imposter Syndrome”
People say I’m great
I succeed at what I do
But deep inside I know what’s true
They are wrong
I’m a failure, a fraud, a fake
I’m a deceiving slithering snake
No one sees me how I truly am.
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