I started tutoring when I was in 7th grade. After several years, I developed a system according to what I thought would make the tutoring sessions more productive, and realized that taking study breaks was vital to the process. This means that I have around ten to fifteen minutes per session to talk to whoever I am tutoring. Surprisingly, I have found most people have something interesting if not profound to say during these conversations.

Studies have shown that taking a study break helps clear your mind and allows you to understand the content better.

Two years ago I tutored a girl who I had not talked to before. She seemed like an average girl from school; she had a boyfriend and a lot of followers on Instagram, she was popular, fit, and  seemingly carefree. During the study break I expected she would begin talking about her friends or a party but immediately she told me about her family and how she felt different from them. We talked about religion; I thought she was a devout Catholic but she admitted she did not agree with many aspects of her faith. She asked me what I wanted to study, genuinely interested in what I had to say, and told me about her own dreams for the future. She was ambitious and had big plans for herself. She did not want to spend the rest of her life in San Pedro, where she did not feel comfortable and could not be herself. I was amazed at how much I could relate to her.

That girl and that tutoring session radically changed the way I perceived the people around me. Before that day, I had seen her as someone shallow, who fit perfectly into the society of San Pedro. I was embarrassed to have thought of her that way and I even felt an urgency to change the views of those who still misjudged her.

I believe in study breaks. I believe in taking at least ten to fifteen minutes to really talk to someone.

As I continued giving tutoring, this type of situation began to happen more often. When we were alone, people would behave completely different from how they acted in school and at parties. Everyone had a story they were not telling, problems they were hiding, a world of thoughts they did not share for fear of being judged. I realized tutoring is a privilege; I was able to see the part of people that they refused to show in society and be a witness to the fact that mostly everyone is so much more than they appear to be.

When I meet people now, I try not to judge them, knowing they are more complex than they seem, but a study break might make them easier to understand.