Lets take a moment indeed

Let's have a moment

Writing has always been very important to me. I've always found that writing my thoughts helps me better express myself because I feel more confident on what I am about to say. Recently I had a very important moment; I was told by two professors on the same day that I needed to “not be so direct in my writing”. To in other words, stop being too concise, which I've found is no good for composing. I was raised by my grandfather, a man that was a product of being brought up during World War II, a man’s man, a man that taught me that “I can say more with less” as its roughly translated. When I decided to get my degree, my biggest fear wasn't the Biology courses or the higher math classes that I will have to take, it was a simple writing class that I was most afraid of. Not only was I taught from a young age to “use less words”, I just finished a seven year journey through a workforce that loved to use “less words”. The military makes everything into acronyms, which forces us to have to be able to communicate with the less amount of words possible. Both of these experiences helped define who I am, somebody proud, confident and very sure of himself. Writing though, it scares me.  

 If while I’m talking I say something that doesn't quite sound right I can usually tell by people’s reaction so I am able to instantly find another set of words to help me approach my audience and get my point across. In writing, my words are saved there for “eternity”, for people to read without me being able to provide instant feedback. Which is a good connection between my first moment, realizing I have to be able to abound in my writing with realizing I am just beginning this new chapter, which requires nothing but for me to be an excellent composer. This second moment was around my second blog post, I realized I need to learn how to crawl before I can walk. Of course I am going to make mistakes, I may not even make sense sometimes. But that is why we have reflection, I will learn from my mistakes and hopefully catch them during my own reflection-in-action next time I write. 

A third moment was when I realized that no one was harsher with my writing that I was with it. Dr. Taczak said during one of her lectures ‘You are your own worst critic’. Sure, I've heard that expression before, but I don’t think that it resonated with me as much as it did at that point. She knew her audience, I was just complaining about how I hated to reflect on my own writing and then it made all the sense in the world. Nothing bad can come from writing and exposing yourself to constructive reflection, I will only keep getting better as I keep writing. With the help of my peers and professors, I will keep being my own harshest critic, I will take all criticism constructively and it will only make me a better writer.