The other day a close friend of mine came over so I could help her with her personal statement, which was a requirement for her application to university.

She was sharing with me how she found it extremely difficult to start writing, and especially because (and I quote) she is a science student, she'd spend hours and would end up with a (again I quote) piece of crap.

But alhamdulillah, after spending time going through it with me, she managed to finally finish her personal statement, and even submitted all her applications that very day.

The experience made me realise once again how important, and arduously difficult writing can be – no, writing is. It's not easy, and no one gets it right on the first try. I suppose this is a reflection on my previous post, which was an expression of my anxiety and hopelessness towards my own writing.

It's a reminder for me that whenever I feel that writing is hard, that's actually okay, because it IS hard. Even with lots of practice, it'll always be hard.

The experience also brought me back to a consultation with my prof when I shared with her my worries as a Lit student who struggles with her writing, a struggle I immaturely thought to be unexpected of a Lit student. Needless to say, I was totally dragged by my own prof. She was appalled at my thinking and told me to rid of it (something I'm still working on). One thing that struck me, though, was how she kept reiterating that writers aren't good producers, they're good editors. The first draft will always be terrible, no doubt about it. So writers will always have to keep editing, again and again, until they've sharpened their thoughts and crafted a fine piece of work, and that won't be until what's probably the 20th draft.

And that's what I told my friend, who too shared my anxiety of writing terribly. She was caught up with her first sentence and how bad it sounded, her worries acted as a large wall that barred her from moving on.

But, evidently, she got over that. And I should, too. I also shouldn't be too hard on myself. Good writers are good editors, and that's what I'll strive to be.