Hella chic to have earned a Ph.D. at 30. Lessons/Reflections.

Academia is a profoundly depleting place, so it’s important to learn how to navigate it:  

• 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡, & 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. So you learn to use your time & energy strategically. Your energy is sacred, so you only invest it in activities & places that feed it, not drain it.     

• 𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫. So you learn to become a fierce advocate so your labor is compensated.     

• 𝐀𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭. So you learn to enjoy the process.     

• 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. So you learn to develop a thick skin without becoming too rigid. You still make space for tenderness, but only for those who deserve it.     

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞, 𝐭𝐨𝐨, 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. So, you learn to be even more attentive to the ethics of being a scholar from historically opposed communities who embody this contradiction.     

• 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 & 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 “𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲”  𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮. They might even see you as a threat to their own growth. So you learn to trust your intuition & only collaborate with those who reciprocate your desire to build relationships of mutual support & growth.  

• Academia creates the conditions for competition. So you learn that interpersonal dynamics are influenced by this very real experience of resource scarcity. You critique the system & institutions that intentionally create conditions of scarcity & competition.

• 𝐈𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥. So you intentionally seek out collaborations with colleagues & communities, because you understand that the process of collaboration 𝘐𝘚 the praxis.     

• 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, and mamá didn’t raise you to be fake. So you learn to unapologetically speak your mind & be a truth-teller because you don't have time for abusive behavior or institutions. You understand that some relationships gotta go so you can build new ones that are rooted in reciprocity.   

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐬. So you learn to challenge the hierarchy of knowledge production & the notion of "expertise."

• 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨-𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬. So you commit to being a completely different professor & mentor. Those passive-aggressive professors were probably treated poorly by their own professors & advisors, so they continue this toxic "hazing" cycle because that's what feels familiar to them.   

• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 & 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐝. So you learn that we're all works in progress & being ignorant is a very common human experience. You learn to accept the limitations of your own knowledge & surrender to the fact that your work reflects your present knowing (which evolves over time).  

• 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 & 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬. So you learn to soothe your nervous system when critique is offered. & you learn to discern when the critique comes from arrogance & ego.    

• 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. & that's okay. So you learn that your voice is also worthy of being published in journals that aren't open source.  Balance is key.  

•&+

While it is a tremendous privilege to be a scholar, let’s be real: it’s also a profoundly exhausting experience for those of us who weren’t meant to set foot on a college campus, let alone graduate school & professorship. 

For those of us who come from historically oppressed backgrounds, we quickly learn that the way we move isn’t the way the academy moves, nor the way it wants us to move:

Our collectivist values often clash with academic-institutional individualism. Our abuelas’ remedies & abuelos’ conocimiento are treated as second-class knowledge, as inherently less than & not rigorous enough.

But then comes a shift [perhaps during an eclipse] when we finally choose to let go of those expectations & we make room for something even more special & sacred to us. We jump into a portal of no return; it is then that we make peace with the fact that academia is just a place, not our entire identity, & thus, we return our embodied wisdom & allow ourselves to write from our corazón, guided by the gentle whispers of our ancestors, & moved by the rhythm of our collective heartbeat.