Struggle

If you’re like me, all your undertakings probably begin the same way: with low whimpers of anxiety that soon erupt into panic.

On day one, your smile is wide, your handshake firm, your notepad laden with neat lines of memos. There’s too much to take in, but that’s a typical first day, right? By the second day, it’s still too much. The third day promises no better and by day five, even the weekend seems like the comma in a long and tedious paragraph. You lie awake each night, re-imagining the day’s events, second-guessing yourself. How was my paper? How was my presentation? Did I do okay? Did I say anything stupid? Did people like me? Can I do this?

I can’t do this.

Escape becomes your next preoccupation. Like a hunted animal, your thoughts scramble from one safe hiding place to the next.

I could drop this class, I could take it next semester.

I could get another job.

I could postpone that phone call.

Meanwhile, dates and expectations and assignments and meetings crop up, snarling and snaggling and tripping you as you run: they are the thistle and vine, the serpent on her belly. The hunter with his beast.

The thing about running is that eventually you get somewhere.

Artist: Wing Yin Tang 

Slowly, you learn to break the thistle, to untangle the vine, to avoid the serpent and the hunter. To thrive in the forest.

This NPR story describes how different cultures approach the idea of struggle, and how that approach impacts success. Struggle can feel frustrating and scary, but it is a meaningful part of learning. The Writing Center is a safe place to struggle, to say “I don’t know,” to learn.

Come learn with us.