Earlier, I lamented how I shouldn’t repurpose my old content and have it remain behind the curtain of academia. I based this feeling on my initial reaction to trying to create content solely for its own sake (part of my refinement and evolution process). At the time, I thought and said it was shit. But as I look back at it again to use as fodder . . . er research for my next piece, I realized that it might not be that bad. Not now, at least. In fact, what may have made me so judgmental was when I ran it through Grammarly and saw my text light up like an error-filled Christmas tree. I thought, “That’s how much I need to rewrite?!!”
For those unfamiliar with Grammarly, it’s “spell-check” on steroids. As long as you don’t let it dominate your editing process (like I let it earlier), it’s a somewhat helpful tool. Zoe Bee did an excellent video about the program’s pitfalls, which you can see below.
After relegating it to what I called “run-of-the-mill undergrad fare,” I’m starting to change my mind. Although I still acknowledge that it lacks the polish it would have gotten had it not been written in haste, I think it might have enough substance to stand on. At best, that “nugget of insight,” I believe is still there, is there. At worst, it’s a lesson on how maybe I shouldn’t flaunt my old work as “good.” Nevertheless, it still merits some repurposing.
Whatever the case, here is my new plan. I will again repurpose my old content, use Grammarly (sparingly), and bank on the fact that it wasn’t as shitty as I thought. Worst case scenario, I can use them as examples of the futility of polishing turds.
Cool? Cool.
