by Rachel Carey
Criticism.
The mention of the word makes all of us shiver with fear (you don’t have to deny it) as waves of low self-esteem crash and leave us breathless. Since I am a student and writer desperately trying to impress my superiors as well as keep what I know is right for me in mind, criticism is not a friend that I enjoy meeting up with often. But I wouldn’t consider it an enemy, either.
Not any more, that is.
Yes, there was a time when the mention of a meeting after class caused me to go into a cold sweat while my heart rate rose to somewhere in the realm of dangerous, but I’ve slowly learned that taking others’ opinions into account when it comes to my work isn’t so bad after all. Especially when they have what’s best for me in mind.
Below, I will recount the tale of the most useful criticism I ever received, in the hopes that it will help you help those students who are still deathly afraid of criticism come to terms with it …