My story flipped 100% from the first draft to the last, I began with writing about my relationship with my father. However, as I wrote, I just felt weakness where power was supposed to come. The only part that I felt power from was the parts with my mother. So I changed my story to be about what she has taught me. Still, I knew I couldn’t honestly write that story without stating how my mom has also made me feel weak. My story evolved from the ramblings of a hurt child to the understanding of a young woman trying her best.
I think it was very important to have several drafts because of the fact that these stories are so emotional and personal. The majority of first drafts were either too emotional or too detached. Everyone worked more and more to find a balance between telling a story of what happened to telling how this event made us feel, and how that becomes our power.