Comp 1 Essay 1 mc - Overcoming Fear and Gaining Confidence in Writing PDF

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Overcoming Fear and Gaining Confidence in Writing...

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Overcoming Fear and Gaining Confidence in Writing When I was in school, I had a very difficult time reading and writing. I struggled to maintain good marks in school and was told by more than one teacher that I was a remedial student. I could always excel at anything I set my mind to, but this area was a constant struggle. One day, well into my high school years, my Physics teacher pulled me aside after class to discuss my test scores. “Allen”, she said, “you are a smart young man; why are you failing your exams?” With tears welling up in my eyes, I sheepishly answered “I don’t know. I thought I knew the material.” The teacher asked me if I would like to retake the test in a written format in lieu of the Scantron, fill in the bubble, format. I agreed to give it a shot. To my surprise, I was able to pass the exam with the highest score in the class. It turned out I was dyslexic. Where this moment made me fear I would never be good at reading and writing, working as a project manager was an important moment in my literacy development because I was able to overcome my fear of writing and gain the confidence in my written communications. As a project manager, despite my fear of writing, I had no choice but to write. I wrote emails, safety plans, proposals etc. All of these were basic requirements of my position. At first, this task was so enormous that I would sit, staring at my screen, for an hour paralyzed by the fear of failure and inadequacy. I was afraid I would be demoted or even fired when they discovered how inept I was at writing. Slowly but surely I started completing reports and work plans, each task taking 3-4 times what co-workers would spend. I would cover this deficiency by working 20 hour days so nobody would know that it took me so long. As time went by and the deadlines got tighter, I started writing without thinking about it. I realized writing was not beyond me. I was not broken. More importantly, I was no longer afraid of the task of writing.

The other major success my time as a project manager afforded me was confidence in my writing. I always felt like I was the uneducated member of the team as I had no formal education beyond high school. To me, it appeared that the other project managers did not struggle as I did. It felt like they always knew what to say and how to put it down in writing more elegantly and more professionally. It wasn’t until the owners of the company had a professor from Brigham Young University Idaho come to teach an informal business writing class that I would see where I really stood in comparison to my peers. I was called in by the general manager to discuss my participation in the classes. My heart sunk. This would be the moment they found out how deficient I was. My days of hiding my Achilles heel were over. To my surprise, the conversation was quite to the contrary. I was informed that the professor had stated that I was the shining light in the company. She had also stated that some of my peers I had aspired to emulate the most were actually very poor writers. The wind was no longer in my face; it was now at my back. The remainder of my time as a project manager my writing continued to get better. The compliments kept coming prompting me to keep moving forward. I was no longer intimidated when I had to write to a high-level executive or government official. My confidence soared and I started to somewhat enjoy writing. Through the years I was told I wasn’t good at writing. I had been beaten down by the very educators whose job it was to lift me up. I had all but submitted to the fact I would never be a good writer. I was defeated and devoid of any drive necessary to change it. However, through the kind acts of one incredible physics teacher and my time as a project manager, I was able to reignite my passion to succeed. I had again found my determination to push through barriers whether perceived or real. I had finally, in my late 30’s, not only overcome my fear of writing but also gained a newfound confidence in my abilities....