Where are you from originally?

I am originally from Newnan, GA. I moved to Decatur 10 years ago to start my undergrad degree at Agnes Scott and I’ve lived here ever since.

What are you studying and why?

I am studying Rhetoric and Composition, which I actually became interested in because of writing center studies. I love thinking and talking about writing, and this is a great field to do those things in. I’m also really interested in digital rhetoric, specifically how people work with remix and reframing on social media platforms (RIP Vine).

What are your goals for after GSU?

After I complete my MA this year, I’d like to keep doing writing center work, but I’m also interested in technical writing and user research. I’m open to new possibilities, but I know whatever I do will involve writing in some capacity!

What’s a lesson you’ve learned from tutoring?

I’ve learned how wildly different everyone’s writing process is. What works for me doesn’t work for my tutees, necessarily. Some people really love to outline, for example. I very rarely outline before I write because I prefer to discover things as I go. In fact, sometimes I’ll do a reverse outline to make sure that my structure makes sense. However, for people who like to do a lot of planning, an outline can be really helpful. The lesson I take from this is that it’s important to stay open-minded and flexible, and to have a variety of strategies I can recommend to people with different writing and thinking styles.

What’s the most memorable thing a student has ever said to you?

“Wait, you can DO that?” I hear a variation on this a lot. Writing is a lot more flexible than you might think, and it’s ok to do things out of order, or change your thesis halfway through writing your paper, or move your paragraphs around willy-nilly, or play around with form. It’s okay to break the “rules”! Some of the things you think are rules aren’t even rules! Writing can be fun as well as painful and torturous. I love when a student has a realization like this; it’s a realization I had the first time I visited a writing center. I felt like I was getting some insider knowledge. As a tutor, I like letting people in on the secret, which shouldn’t be a secret at all: writing is flexible, adaptable, and awesome.

How has writing influenced your life?

Writing pretty much is my entire life. My relationship with writing has had its ups and downs, but it has always been a constant for me. What I think is really powerful about writing is how transferable it is. Every time I write, the experience is different, but I have so many strategies and experiences to draw on. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, writing is a useful skill to have. At the very least, it’s important to know how to communicate with others and express yourself clearly, and writing has really helped me be able to do that.

I think, too, that writing has taught me that I will never know everything. There is always something new to learn, some new way to think about things, and writing makes this abundantly clear to me.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get where you are now?

Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone is on a different path and theirs is different than yours. Also, do as I say, not as I do; I’m terrible at following my own advice.