Samantha Chaffin
Editor-in-Chief
As the editor-in-chief of a student newspaper, scrutiny and criticism are not uncommon things.
Every week, deadlines roll around and it’s a race against time, while maintaining attention to every detail, to get a quality paper out.
In my time as editor-in-chief here at “The Bengal,” I’ve had headlines, photo captions, names, and a plethora of other mistakes sneak passed me. Every time a mistake gets through, it’s disheartening, embarrassing, frustrating and… because there are no other words, it just sucks every time.
Frankly, job descriptions for open positions in any publication should list “thick skin” as a pre-requisite requirement, but that’s neither here nor there.
In a university setting, the mistakes we make are at the forefront of our everyday lives: red marks on essays, slashes across test questions we’ve answered incorrectly, the friends we forgot we had plans with—you get the picture.
Anytime we’re reminded that we are less than perfect, it’s a tough pill to swallow. Everyone wants to excel in their field and, whether they’ll admit it or not, no one enjoys being criticized or proven wrong. Even though some people definitely have thicker skin or handle it better than others, I can guarantee you that no one wakes up in the morning thinking, ‘I sure hope somebody points out my errors and flaws today.’
When I first took over the position of editor-in-chief, I can honestly say that I was a mess. Anytime someone told me about an error that had slipped by, an issue that had surfaced or an email I had forgotten to return, I would beat myself up for days at a time and replay the scenario in my head over and over.
As you can probably guess, none of those things were even slightly productive.
I’ve been asked on several occasions what I’ve learned through my experience in college or as the editor of a college newspaper, and I’ve always had a hard time articulating my answer.
It has taken me a long time, but in my time here, the most valuable thing I’ve learned is that mistakes happen.
The second most valuable thing I’ve learned is that energy is better spent working to avoid mistakes in the future and correcting what I can, rather than beating myself up over them after the fact.
To many, it may seem almost as if I’ve reached a point of indifference, but the reality is just the opposite.
Rather than looking at the red marks on my papers, whether they be academic, job-related and related to “The Bengal,” and looking to the past wishing I had done something different, I move forward.
It has been a long time coming, but I’ve come to realize that once something is done it can’t be undone or unprinted, no matter how angry I get with myself. All that can be done is what can be done—nothing more, nothing less.
Instead of wasting my energy on frustration and “would have, could have, should have” sentiments, I direct my focus to preventing future mistakes and doing what I can to correct the issue at hand, in whatever ways I am able.
It’s admittedly not a perfect system, but it has saved me a lot of energy and tear-filled afternoons, and it’s a necessary lesson that I will carry with me throughout my future career and life.
