April 15-19

        As the semester once again comes to a close, I'd like to take a brief look at the increased activity we have and reflect on the semester as a whole. As anyone could have expected, the week prior to finals week is crunch time for many students when it comes to papers. As such, the writing center, a place that, for me this last semester, has been fairly quiet and slow, has been a bustle of activity, creative solutions, and satisfied students. Indeed, the sudden flood of students in the last week would've caught me off guard if I hadn't already completed a semester here in the writing center, but I can say with the utmost certainty that I've enjoyed every minute I've spent with my appointments and walk-ins alike. There is a kind of hidden satisfaction to working as a writing consultant - seeing students come in, having them tell you they're lost on how to continue or approach their paper, but then watching them leave with a renewed sense of direction and desire to write. It's a feeling you'd be hard pressed to find in any line of work that isn't for the express benefit of others.
       Of course, in reflecting on this feeling, I'm reminded of how slow our Spring semester has been, to the point where I consider it a break from the whirlwind of appointments I had in the Fall. Last semester I would come in to work and find someone already sitting at a table, ready for the appointment ten minutes early. This semester was much more relaxed, in a sense - likely the result of Freshman having "found their feet," so to speak, finding the confidence/ability to finish their papers without the assistance of the writing center. However, it has been quite telling that there has been a large influx of Freshman in this last week, as the due dates to the larger, more important papers loom overhead. But I will be here for another year, ready and willing to help anyone that comes through our door.

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