After years of training as a campus journalist and participating in district-level feature writing competitions, I have finally received my score on the first ever paper that I did as a college student ─ a whopping 23/50 written in bright red ink. My freshman self was devastated, and questioned the worth of all the years she took in writing various features that her publication adviser was proud of. “Was that all a joke?” she asked. She threw the paper in the nearest trash bin that she saw as soon as she went home to her dormitory, just as how she threw all the confidence she had in writing.

“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”