Thursday, September 25, 2008
yes. i am an academic.
Often, I think a post and a comment thread from years ago (it's here if you're interested) in which George Williams included my old blog in a list of academic blogs. I wrote about that here, in 2004, and it's really interesting to go back and read that now (ok, maybe just to me). Back then I was not an academic. I was just, as I said, "a geek who blogs, and I happen to go to school." I wasn't even doing my MA in English—I was still in B-school mode. Bitch PhD commented that her blog was "Scholarship plus crazy personal shit plus bitching" and George piped up with "Right. That's what I said: Academic Blogging."
That moment was probably one of those "had to be there" moments, but it has always stuck with me. Academics read a lot. They bitch. They have lives.
Today I had the feeling that I've really arrived as a professional in this field (ok, still a grad student, but whatever. I get paid.). No, I wasn't notified of an award or a publication, and no, a student did not come to me after class and tell me how I changed his or her life for the better.
Instead, like every day this week (and last week, and the week before that, and the week before that, and oh yeah, the week before that and finally, yes, the week before that) I arrived on campus with coffee in hand before 7:30, had several meetings in a row, taught class, sat in class, had more meetings, was too stupid to eat, and got home around 6pm....AND DID NOT GET ONE SHRED OF MY OWN WORK DONE.
So there. That is the definition of an academic. I have arrived.
That moment was probably one of those "had to be there" moments, but it has always stuck with me. Academics read a lot. They bitch. They have lives.
Today I had the feeling that I've really arrived as a professional in this field (ok, still a grad student, but whatever. I get paid.). No, I wasn't notified of an award or a publication, and no, a student did not come to me after class and tell me how I changed his or her life for the better.
Instead, like every day this week (and last week, and the week before that, and the week before that, and oh yeah, the week before that and finally, yes, the week before that) I arrived on campus with coffee in hand before 7:30, had several meetings in a row, taught class, sat in class, had more meetings, was too stupid to eat, and got home around 6pm....AND DID NOT GET ONE SHRED OF MY OWN WORK DONE.
So there. That is the definition of an academic. I have arrived.
Labels: grad school