"Done is good."
That's advice from a friend of mine who just made tenure -- w00t!
That's a long hard road for me, I'm afraid.
Someone once asked me how in the world I could choose the field I did, and I always deadpan "the money".
Reality check, folx, we academics don't make a lot of money. You might hear about a tenured professor's salary, but you don't hear about the student loans that eat up most of that paycheck. And if you're in any of the humanities, the competition for work as a professor would congeal your blood, I kid you not.
So why do I do it?
I'm an idealist. I believe knowledge is important. No, I don't want to be a teacher. I just like the subject. Sure, yeah, I wish I had more money to pay for my toys. (Hey, lingerie ain't cheap, and my boyfriend likes those FMPs, even if I am short...).
But at the end of the day, I really just want to add to the world's body of knowledge. I think that the intersection of religion and spirituality, as well as the role that sex has played in it has been sadly underinvestigated.
Oh, think of the.... well the celibacy (or lack thereof!) of the priesthood, and the political ramifications in sixteenth century Europe. For that matter, what did it mean to the European population that the intelligensia were forbidden to breed? (The Church was the basic refuge for people who had the slightest academic bent or desire for learning. Think about what
that did to the bell curve!)
I suppose you could make a case for something like it today. I'm starting to stare at 30 and I'm at least ten years from even considering having children. Most of my fellow students are in the same boat. Doesn't help that we don't live in a situation where kids are an economic asset like they were on a farm.
What does that have to do with sex and religion, you ask me? Heh. Pick up a damn newspaper and see the Religious Right's glorification of marriage and family.
And ask yourself if
that is really who you want breeding!
