Desiring Growth

As someone who loves giving feedback on writing, I’ve heard a lot of advice on how to best do that. But starting work at my college’s Writing Center has gotten me thinking about the mindset needed to receive feedback in a way that is enriching.

Though I’ve only been a writing tutor for about a month, I’ve seen enough students to notice a trend: the ones who walk out of the Writing Center most satisfied are the ones who walked in with a desire for growth. Their actual skill level had nothing to do with it.

After some reflection, I narrowed down the three most common roadblocks I see in the Writing Center. A lot of good feedback and advice can go to waste if the writer is a) too defensive about their work, b) convinced they have no room for improvement, or c) afraid of a little hard work. I am not here to shame or belittle anyone who has encountered these issues. These are very real problems, and most writers, myself included, have struggled with all of them at some point.

But I think it’s important to remember that even in gardening, growth isn’t always sunshine and budding flowers. In order for a bush or tree to grow to its full potential, it has to go through pruning. What at first seems like a painful process, a step backwards, and a waste of growing time, is actually what allows the plant to spread its branches farther than before.

It’s the same with writers except, as creatures with free will, we also have to want it. We have to want to be vulnerable. We have to be aware of our potential and strive to achieve it. Most importantly, we have to want the hard work that comes with it. That is what it means to desire growth.