I was mulling the other day the thought that I am of that age where one’s experience and expertise requires one to dish out advice on a daily basis. I do this mostly as an educator and supervisor of PhD, Masters and BA students. I’m also an academic mentor of undergraduates, and generally of that age when giving advice seems to be an automatic thing. Occasionally I find myself about to give advice and I have to internally kick myself. The next thought would be, “Oh boy, I really am getting old!”. 😬
Being me, I feel somewhat awkward about this because who amongst us can pretend to know all the things? Life often seems to be a series of blunders, playing by ear and somehow stumbling on to the right combination of variables that actually work for those of us who are bristling bundles of intense energy, awkwardness, indecisions and occasional strokes of luck. There’s also the thing where if you place too many caveats around your advice you may either seem over-cautious, self-absorbed or heaven forbid, narcissistic!
However, in my job, dispensing advice and caregiving is both a professional duty and a moral obligation. And as for this blog, I knew that after decades (did you know I registered this domain in 2002?) I wanted it to be different. I wanted to provide some guidance and value for people seeking it as opposed to just navel-gazing about my stories. I always preface this advice with: hey, take it if it works for you, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I guess that’s how this awkward Gen-X academic does it. I will never not be awkward but I think I need to also be self-aware that giving advice is a thing I’m paid to do in my day-job.
I guess what I am saying is that I am a person who discovered what works for me through trial and error. And some of the things that worked for me, I try to condense it and clarify it in a way that works for others. In my job it turns into a pedagogical practice. On my blog, I’m not quite sure what I’m trying to do here but I do hope that at least some of what I post will be of service and of value.
I’ve got a couple of writing prompts/tips-type posts lined up for perhaps July (June is pretty intense with academic deadlines), so stay tuned for those. They’re pretty simple and basic things but may be helpful for people in a writer’s block or who are looking for external impulses and prompts. For the time being, you can go through past posts to see what works for you. No strings attached, no payment required. Just my way of paying it forward.
Till the next blog post,
xx
Anita