Collaborative Writing: A Lesson in Confidence

I have always been very shy, and it has been hard for me to work up the courage to speak up in discussion based classes. This class was no exception, so when I realized that collaborative writing was a substantial part of the course, it sounded like my worst nightmare. And it felt like that when we started our collaborative writing. However, as we continued writing collaboratively more and more, I became much more confident and comfortable sharing my ideas. By the second or third day of collaborative writing, I was speaking up a lot, to the surprise of even myself. I wasn’t just agreeing with other people’s ideas anymore, I was voicing my own opinions. It was scary at first, but I realized that as I let myself take those risks, the process was much more rewarding. That realization was kind of an “oh, duh” moment for me—this class is about the risks and rewards of academic partnerships, and of course this collaborative writing project is an academic partnership, and of course that partnership will be filled with risks and rewards. I didn’t realize that until I let myself really participate in the partnership of collaborative writing, but that realization completely changed my view of collaborative writing and it is no longer something I dread.