redrenee

Hi WildViolet! This is my first response I've posted to GradCafe. Fitting, no? I just wanted to shout you out for recognizing the bullshit circle jerk that happens in academia. And I get the method of staying silent. But this is also your education as well, and you're in a PhD program, so you're in it for the long haul. How much longer can you stand it? Why not just call it out? I think if I were in your situation, rather than staying silent I might make mention of the fact that it was happening. I can't stand hearing people talk just to hear themselves talk! And I feel like the field of education tends to be more forgiving when it comes to formal rules/etiquette of collegiality. Of course, take my words with a grain of salt. I had a reputation for my bullshit meter. Sometimes it worked for me, and other times it didn't. But I don't regret a single moment that I spoke my mind. Good luck!

Lurker here posting for the first time. I've known since I was in 2nd grade that I would go to grad school. I didn't have a clue what that meant or how, or anything about the degrees. I just somehow picked up by that age that I would go to college, all the way through until I was a Dr. (not a medical doctor. I never had an inkling to be that). I find it even more remarkable because I didn't have a set of parents encouraging me to go to college, or any help from them in the process. While I don't remember everything about being 7, this point sticks out. What I find eeiry is that sometimes, despite my best attempts at derailing my life, I have always found myself back in school unconsciously accomplishing all of the goals I set out for myself when I was 7. I like to say/believe that me as a second grader always has a better grasp on who I am as a person and is clearer about what I want out of my life than I do now..