Even in my eighth semester of my undergraduate degree, I find myself struggling to keep up with my schedule in the first weeks of class. This internship at the MSU Writing Center led me to hold back on my credits -- only taking 13 total this semester. (This, for me, is almost sloth-like.) My classes, as well as the Literary Arts Journal I have found myself to be the Editor-In-Chief of, have laid out a semester of long nights and busy weekends. I have my planner color-coded, my tests and papers scheduled out, my coffee supply well-stocked.
Why, then, am I still so stressed? I could give you a multitude of answers, but they would all boil down to something along the lines of:
I can't say, "No."
What does this have to do with Writing Center Conversations? It has to do with where I find myself running to when I am stressed -- when I am overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, and ready to pull hair out. I go to the Writing Center -- and I seek out conversation.
When asked what "good" writing consists of, all too many of the incoming freshmen we see in the Writing Center answer with something like, "Good flow." This term -- flow -- is a strange term to process as a peer tutor. Of course, we can assume it has something to do with the organization of paragraphs, thoughts, and sentences in the paper. We can guess that it has something to do with the idea of "good" grammar and punctuation. But, as a peer tutor, what does flow mean in terms of what we do here at the Writing Center?
I started to think about the idea of good flow -- of people's fluidity in language and conversation -- of easy transitions and comfortable phrases. I began to think about how this abstract idea was much more than what we may preliminarily strive for in writing, but instead had to do with the environment of the Writing Center itself.
One of our past tutors left us at the Writing Center with a letter to future tutors, detailing her experience here, saying:
"There is an ebb and flow of amazing people [here]."
- E.J. Schwaller, Past Tutor
The reason I find myself at the Writing Center, sitting on the orange couches, drinking tea, and laughing while in the midst of a conversation was because of this. There is an ebb and flow of people, thoughts, writing, and conversation. There is an energy that fizzles when you walk in the door, stemming from people eager to listen and learn. There is a group of people here that becomes a second family -- a group that challenges you, supports you, and would do anything to see you succeed.
It overwhelms me to think about how I have only been at the MSU Writing Center for a year, but have already learned so much. It has even changed the course of my education -- pushing me to look at career opportunities in writing center work after my undergrad. Over the course of this semester, I hope to use this blog as an outlet for thoughts and ideas I stumble on here at our Writing Center. Whether it be about a peer tutoring session, or perhaps the incredible frustration that comes with organizing studio groups on a google spreadsheet, I hope this platform will serve as a learning tool for both myself, and others in our Writing Center community.
