Through this writing 101 I’ve learned to appreciate the struggle- that scary, stressful point in a student’s life where you have absolutely no idea how to start an assignment, or get past a block or get an idea out of your head and onto a paper. In high school, the struggle stopped me but through this course I’ve learned to use that struggle to my advantage.
The struggle isn’t a bad thing even if it seems like it is. It’s a motivator of sorts that pushes me to do my best work possible. Having so many ideas about where to go with a paper or stressing about how to make the flow of paper better aren’t bad traits, they’re traits I have because I care about my work.
In my blog posts, I often wrote about not being able to get my ideas out of my head and onto the paper or being at a loss for which direction I should go in. In high school I never asked for help if I was stuck or didn’t know what to do with an assignment out of fear of asking for help. I’m extremely independent and that’ll never change but through this course I’ve learned that there’s nothing wrong with asking for help when I need it.
Mrs. B from the beginning said she would be there every step of the way to help us whenever we needed it but also we could go to the writing center. Having her there to conference with was something that helped me in the beginning stages but I get very shy when I have people I know read my work so the place that was most helpful was the writing center. I conferenced with the writing center for my papers and each time they showed me that there was no stigma in getting help.
Each time I went I felt even stronger about how much of a positive addition the writing center was to my university experience. I struggled so much with getting ideas out of my head and onto the paper for units 1 and 3 and when I met with the writing center they helped me gather my thoughts and make them actual paragraphs on paper. Getting out of my head is one of my biggest struggles as an academic and reaching out and asking for help is one of the best ways to figure out how to fix it.
This semester has shown me that it is okay to have too many ideas for how to take a paper because that shows I’m invested in my work but I can’t let having all those ideas stop me from putting out the best work I can put out. I have to ask for help when I need it and time after time, that help is the best thing for me.
The fact that I went, got help with my work and even admitted it in my blog shows me that I’ve grown as a student since the beginning of this class. I shook that fear that I might look like I don’t have everything figured out and put myself out there and that shows me that Writing 101 has benefitted me in ways four years of prep school never could.
Tags: Growth, Identity, Journey, Process
Love the honesty here, Caroline, especially the struggle of having so many ideas and making the project seem so big that it’s hard to start. I’m glad that the writing center was instrumental in your process as well; I’m a believer in the idea that the more feedback you receive, the better the work. Being an academic means being comfortable with peer review.
I also think these lessons will serve you well as you enter next semester.