As I was perusing...

my English Journal (I know, tre grown-up!) looking at the "call for manuscripts" section hoping to encounter a request for nightmare stories of student teaching placements (no luck),

I reached page 15 and an article entitled "The Legacy of Teacher Comments" (you can read it here), and I thought to myself

"gee self, how perfect...I am enduring nearly 70 papers that make my eyes bleed from atrocious writing, and incorrect citation formats--since skills weren't taught in any capacity--and this will be an inspirational story about how a teacher's comment changed this teacher's life forever."

HA.

So now I am concerned that my comments were horridly worded and I will erode a student's life-long confidence and that student will write about me someday when he or she is a smarter-than-me English Professor. And then I thought about how I haven't read any papers thus far (knock on wood, I still have those 21 to go!) that a student has gone above-and-beyond in effort, but I have read some who really improved since the first time I read them...

I will be more aware of my comments--and do everything I can to avoid discouraging students. That is my mission.

(I hope I put the link in and it functions!! Let me know if it doesn't!)