I have shed my share of tears over the grueling writing process. I have heard enough “this paper is vague,” “you have too many commas,” and “you’re not supporting your thesis.” No, I am past all that now. I got a 36 on the English section of the ACT and am ready for college. I take my first class, composition, and end it with an A. Finally, I can conclude: I am a good writer.
Fast forward about 8 months. By this time, I am living on campus and all of my friends find out I’m a writing major. I am continuously bombarded with questions like “Oh, can you help me with my paper?” and “Does the comma go here or here?” But I don’t mind. I like helping my peers with their writing. After all, I’ve already concluded I am a good writer, so surely, I have a lot to offer. The thing is, when you’re surrounded by nursing majors who hate writing, maybe you dohave something to offer.
But being surrounded by writing majors, I was in for a rude awakening.
I sauntered into my first Professional Writing and Information Design class the fall of 2019. Maybe I’m not quite as prepared as I thought I was. What I learned from my first week of PWID classes: there is a LOT I don’t know. What I learned from my first PWID grade: there is a LOT I don’t know that I thought I knew. For so long, I prided myself on my punctuation accuracy. You can imagine how dumbfounded I was when my professors found numerous typos and punctuation errors. I started to question everything. Am I in the right major? Can I even proofread? Can I write at all?
For some reason I came to college thinking I needed to be perfect. I’m a writing major, so my papers should already be flawless, right? Oh, was I wrong. What’s the point of coming to college if you have nothing to learn? I knew I had some things to learn. I know now I have much more to learn.
I’m no longer at the top of my class, and that’s ok. Instead of being frustrated and discouraged by my grades, I can turn that into motivation to do better. Instead of comparing myself to fellow students, I should learn from them. PWID has brought me from an arrogant little freshman who knew everything about grammar, to a humbled writer taking one assignment at a time. No one likes having their pride hurt. But I’m thankful.
So far PWID has been such an incredible experience. I have learned so much about writing and design. But most importantly, I’ve learned that I have a long way to go. Yes, maybe I am more inclined to writing than some of my peers in other majors. But I am by no means excellent. Yes, maybe I have an eye for design. But I am far from skilled in creating those designs. I am thankful for my major because it doesn’t expect students to come in as seasoned writers. What my freshman-self failed to recognize was my need for growth. College is the time to grow in your strengths and explore areas of weakness. PWID has exposed my weaknesses and challenged my strengths – what more could I hope for?
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