Resilience is an essential skill in a person’s life and a very complex term because it is made up of so many individual characteristics. It shows how you endure life, it is a feature that can be trained and it shows how open and flexible you are towards other people and perspectives which likely makes you less judgemental. I believe that being resilient not only shows how you manage difficult situations but how you make use of them to learn from your mistakes and difficulties. Therefore, I see resilience as a skill that is also important in the context of a writing center.

Our writing center at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, combines writing with intercultural learning. We offer various programs that include academic writing, improving learning methods and developing intercultural competences. Of course, we also face challenges that influence our programs. In those moments, it is important that my peer-tutors and I do not doubt the quality of our offers and see the bigger picture. Why are we (not) that popular? What are the reasons why people (do not) participate? Are there any other influences?

For example, I co-guided a writing workshop for a group of students we have never met before. We planned on starting the day with getting to know each other with a game. We had a selection of game possibilities the group could choose from but barely anyone reacted to our offers which was irritating. So my partner and I started to explain them further so it might be easier for the participants to choose. Generally, the energy during the workshop was quite low and there were times we did not always know what to do to improve the mood and atmosphere. Later, it turned out that the group had an exhausting day the day before and therefore, many were tired. Also, the feedback round showed that the group expected a complex writing task which was nothing we had in mind. So their initial expectation influenced their motivation to participate which, in turn, improved as soon as they realized we were not up to something difficult or exhausting that day.

This example shows how resilience is a key factor when working in a writing center. There can always be irritating situations that could lead to doubting your skills as a peer-tutor or the quality of the contents you prepare. Here, it is important to reflect on the questions mentioned above. Reassure yourselves about what you do well and reflect on why a situation might have turned out the way it did. Eventually, you will not end up disappointed but you will learn from the difficulties and have an idea of what to improve in the future.

However, I also think that “being resilient” has limitations as it is often misinterpreted in society resulting in people denying others’ feelings. So, it is important to reflect on your own but also other people’s feelings: Can the feelings be transformed through resilience or do they need to be endured? Why does this person feel that way? Is it advisable to distract them or rather let them feel their emotions?

Being resilient is often misunderstood as a skill to not feel badly but rather stay positive all the time which is not the essence of the term. Resilience helps to reflect on mistakes or difficulties without doubting yourself. Feelings need to be felt and resilience should not overshadow them. A healthy amount of (self-)reflection is always the key to deal with any situation as appropriately as possible.

About the author – Marie Waßmund:

I am a peer-tutor at the Center for Teaching and Learning at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. I have an undergraduate degree in Intercultural Communication and am currently finishing my master’s program in Sociocultural Studies. My (professional) interests include learning about different cultural perspectives and giving peer-to-peer-workshops to help sensitize participants to racism and intolerance. I enjoy being part of our center because we work on a peer-to-peer basis and combine writing with intercultural learning.