Week 8-Growth Mindset

For this assignment I needed to look back at my writing and remember the different challenges I faced. I know one thing that I struggle with is comparing myself to others. Whether it is grades or likes on a post, I am a very competitive person. Within this class, this manifest itself in the form of comments. It always worries me when I see that I have less comments than another student. While this could mean so many different harmless things, I have to remind myself that its not a critique on my writing. I think this is a challenge that many college students face, we are constantly comparing our GPAs, test scores and even honor society nominations to prove that we are the better students. Sometimes this proof is for self-fulfillment, sometimes its to prove to your parents and professors that you deserve to be here. Moving forward with this class, I am to not compare myself to other students. We all have different writing styles that work for us, so own who you are and how you write.

Another thing I struggle with is accepting critique. I know it is the best way to help me as a writer, but my first instinct is always that gut reaction of "defense." I need to learn to move past this reaction and learn that everyone has a different viewpoint and while I might disagree with some, they can still help me move forward as a writer. I think this is important in other classes as well. If your professor gives you feedback on a paper or a project, don't ignore it. Make sure to read it and apply it so you can do better next time.

The last thing I need to practice with is being confident in myself. With my writing it is easy to get discouraged or downhearted when it takes forever to write a piece or when you write a piece that you think is bad. Every time you write it is a learning process and a chance to grow. I think it is important that I and other students remember this. You are never bad at something, you just need more practice.

This is a great reminder that if at first you don't succeed, try again. Web Source