"Are you a writer?" he asked, a smile on his lips. He placed my assignment on the table, and pulled his chair under the desk.
"I am indeed," I said, reciprocating his smile.
It is not very often that your geography teacher compliments you on your writing and grammar, And today, I wanted to discuss how it is such a small, but powerful moment. Ultimately, sharing the idea that these moments of happiness can come from absolutely anywhere — both the expected, or unexpected.
As the dialogue above suggests, my geography teacher was complimenting my writing style and my use of grammar. Yes, my ability to write did contribute to the grades, but the ability to write is not important, as such, in geography. So, such a compliment caught me off guard.
He went on to say that he really liked my writing style, and that I often wrote in long and complicated sentences, and yet it made perfect sense. Writing well is important to me because we come across it everywhere in life. I hold my ability to write, and my skill with grammar, in high regard. So, when somebody recognises that — especially when they don't necessarily have to —it feels like one of the highest compliments. Adding to this was the fact that this teacher knew that I had recently published my first book, Prevailed Hope, and it felt as though he was complimenting that in one. I also like the fact that I had told him about my books, and the fact that I was pursuing a writing career alongside other pursuits in life, and he had remembered. That made me smile in itself, because I really like it when people remember the small details about you — it really does mean a lot.
Not to say that writing a book is not significant in itself, but — realistically — the achievement of writing a book is not going to feel the same to everybody. They don't quite understand the energy and commitment that goes into it. I know from experience that, just because I've written a book, not everybody will not understand the significance. To have that realisation of multiple elements coming together was a wonderful feeling.
I remember, on that particular day, that the teacher was going around everybody; giving them swift feedback on an assignment because it was particularly large, and there were quite a few sections to it. Part of that was making sure that everybody was caught up with the work that needed to be done. To be completely honest, I knew that I couldn't have done too badly, because I had put a lot of effort into the assignment. I was quite pleased with that in itself. However, I was still apprehensive. That said, — just because I've put effort into something it does not mean I will pass and get a good grade. It was a key moment in reminding myself that, in focusing on the effort.
This moment has acted as motivation, and has reminded me to keep going. Writing is great — it is something I can do alongside many other things — but it is a marathon, not a sprint. It is something that I have to put a lot of effort into, with the aim of long term achievement. This is a great characteristic of mine, because I like to achieve things, and I am willing to put in the long term effort in order to get where I want to be. Focusing on the effort, the overall result becomes a by-product. By extension, we have spent less energy on worrying, and more energy on working and doing the right thing.
When it was my turn, he pulled his chair up to my desk. That was another thing: he came to me, instead of having me come to his desk, Especially with a physical disability, these little touches make a lot of difference. At the same time, if he had wanted me to come to the desk, I would not have minded at all — aside from the fact that there are more than a few tables and chairs in the way.
He placed the assignment in front of me, and the first thing he spoke to me about was my writing style. At first, I thought he was going to say that the assignment was written really well, but I hadn't answered the question — or something like that. It turned out to be a very good assignment and he was surprised by my ability to command grammar and words. He had a smile on his lips as he asked me if I was a writer, by any chance — because he knew that I had published my first book, and he could perhaps see that I generally write more than ‘the average student’. As I said at the beginning, it's nice when people notice these little details: it shows they care, and an element of deep thought has gone into something.
It is a moment that I often think about whenever — in the future — I have had to hand in an assignment, or have completed a piece of writing. It is one of my reminders to keep going; one of my biggest critics is myself. Over the years, it has led me to start connecting the idea of academic and creative writing.
Now, academic and creative writing are very different. Academic writing is more formal, and it is written with an imposed purpose or structure — whereas creative writing often comes from a place of passion, and our own thoughts and ideas. Although these writing styles are very different in their conventions, this allowed me to consider how they are linked; how these practices have both enhanced my knowledge of writing and grammar. Although my writing is constantly developing, the act of writing is second nature to me.
Even more poignant is the fact that as I've progressed further into working life, I have realised how much the ability to write is undervalued; a lot of people don't see the significance in it. Yet, it is something that — in some form — we are expected to do almost everyday. My work as a tutor, as well as studying and my writing, come together and complement each other very well. In that sense, I'm crafting a bit of a niche for myself. I am adapting to, and going with, my strengths. I feel this is something that everyone ends up having to do to some extent.
Having to write in many different forms and many different ways has respectively informed each of the other forms that I write in. The fact that I have had the opportunity to relay that information to students (not directly), also reinforces my ability, because I am constantly layering my knowledge. The students themselves introduce me to new perspectives all the time, even when they don't realise it.
I view life as one straight line — and then everything that happens to us acts as a curve in the path. Said curve can be sharp, or it can be gradual. No matter the size, these influence our perspectives and our directions in life. Hence why such a small moment can feel so significant. If such a moment feels so significant, that has quite a big impact on how we feel about ourselves, and where we want to go in life.
If there is something you currently want to achieve, I would like you to keep going, however hard it may feel. Times do get better, people do recognise the effort that you're putting in; people do appreciate the work that you're doing. They just don't always know how to express it. If you can find somebody who doesn't know how to express it, then hold on to the third person. If you don't currently have something you would like to achieve: what could you achieve? How could you be like that tiny but significant influence that a person carries with them throughout their day. Throughout that week, throughout their month, or even throughout their life. There is something beautiful in that.
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