Proofreading

So, my friend Principessa just left my apartment. She had me proofread a cover letter she wrote for a job she will be applying for tomorrow.

For some reason I've become the expert amongst my friends in proofreading... specifically with cover letters. A few weeks ago when everybody in Newhouse was stressing about applying for the Central New York Communications Consortium, I received a few different phone calls from friends for advice on the dreaded monster of selling yourself, the "cover letter". I mailed my cover letter out to my friends, I came up with suggestions for theirs, and I proofread a few. And I have to admit-- I enjoyed it.

The simple task of reading through the sentences, listening to make sure they flow and transition while sounding clear, yet eloquent is like a puzzle for my mind. I see it as some look at a Sodoku puzzle, word search, or crossword puzzle. Something about hunting down the grammar mistakes and searching my mind for the perfect descriptive words and phrases is a challenge for me. Proofreading is one of the random few things that give me a great feeling of satisfaction to complete (doing laundry is another, fyi). It is so rewarding and soothing to finish with a complete document that rolls off the page and conveys a complete and convincing message.

All of this applies for proofreading the work of OTHERS. When it comes to proofreading my own papers-- that is another story. It is annoying, tedious, and the most despized part of any paper writing process for me. I have to admit that a lot of times I skip that step, which can lead to a lot of embarassing and frustrating errors.

My disdain for re-reading my own written work has been cultivated throughout my life. I am a long time journal keeper and for as long as I can remember, I have had a "no reading after the words are written" policy. I've always kept journals as a way to release emotion and my innermost thoughts, worries, struggles, beliefs, and experiences. I journal for myself and only myself and those words are for my own emotional release. I believe that by reading those words after I have written them will leave them subject to judgment (even though it would only be my own... I can be my own harshest critic). My reluctance to proofread my own writing stems from this practice.

This is still a habit that I am trying to break in my professional, academic, and personal writing. I've been really tempted lately to read what I've written in my journal from last year while I was abroad. I'm tempted but I'm scared. I'm not sure why... but I'm scared.

Just so you know, I'm not proofreading this right now.