By Karina Pan,
Editor-in-Chief
Constructive criticism. Not what I signed up for when I enrolled in debate class in sixth grade, but what I got as I squirmed at the podium, a red flush of humiliation across my face. Standing in front of a room of people who examined all my content and delivery was nerve-wracking, and I left each session with my confidence shattered and tears in my eyes.
When my debate growth plateaued, I asked myself why I wasn’t improving. After all, I reflected upon each competition and fixed all the mistakes that I noticed. Looking over my notes, I glanced at my coach’s critiques that I half-heartedly scribbled down and realized that I didn’t actually implement any of it. So, I took a deep breath and concentrated on the constructive rather than the criticism. This lightbulb moment helped me see myself from an outside perspective and examine problems that I never noticed before. With this new skill in hand, I finally placed in my first debate tournament.
Even after I quit debate, struggles with depression and my experience at a statewide conference left me itching to make a difference in my own community and empower student voices. So, full of passion, I drafted a proposal for a district-wide mental health committee and set up a meeting with the Director of Student Services. I entered the Zoom fully confident about my idea, guns blazing and ready to make some change.
For a few seconds after I clicked “Leave Meeting,” I sat at my desk in shock. Instead of the welcome reception I envisioned, I was met with mounds of constructive criticism and felt indignant at their reluctance to support my vision. But after I calmed down, I sat down and started unpacking the huge pile of critiques.
Unsurprisingly, all of the comments were valid and helpful, not the personal attacks I perceived them to be in the moment. With a shock, I realized that I was too absorbed in my zeal to see many of the now-glaring problems with my proposal. This constructive criticism proved invaluable, and only through its implementation was I able to grow my vision into today’s reality.
Although I’ve had plenty of practice, taking critiques is still hard sometimes. However, when I take the effort to really reflect upon them, I see myself from another perspective and detect problems that I could never notice on my own. Each time, a lightbulb goes off in my head and empowers me to be a better worker, friend, leader and person.