Is there something you would change about your life? If so, why?
“All throughout my life, I’ve been moving around a lot. I’ve been through at least, from what I can remember, seven or eight schools. So, with that in mind, I’m always meeting new people, anywhere and everywhere. It hasn’t always been because I wanted to but more because I didn’t really have a choice, you know? It can be lonely, especially if you move around a ton. What I learned from that experience is that I can be very shy when I first meet people. So if I could change anything about my life, I would want to be more comfortable with myself so that I can talk to people about anything and meet new people in a friendly and nice way.”
Looking forward, what is something that you’re aiming to change?
“I’ve found that, sometimes, I’m not the one at the table who makes conversation or starts it. So what I want to do is learn more about…anything, really! If you want to talk to someone who enjoys engineering then you can learn about cars, robotics, and other similar things. If you want to talk to someone about the arts, you can talk about music or the things you enjoy in that area. So I’ve been trying to do new things! I’ve been playing the piano lately, I’m playing golf, and I’ve been watching more sports. I’ve also been reading more, trying to get recommendations on different books so I can start reading something different that can lead me to a conversation with someone new.”
If you could go back and give your younger self any advice, what would it be?
“I would say ‘Don’t do something to impress someone else.’ Like everything that I’m doing right now and trying to learn. Don’t do it to try and impress someone and or look cool, do it for yourself. There’s nothing more important than investing time in yourself.”
– Alan Gutierrez
Beneath The Crown was created by Nick Theisen (‘15). It is inspired by Humans of New York (HONY) and aims to bring the community of Gustavus Adolphus College closer together by providing the perspectives of the many different people who live and work at the school.