S L Forsburg <nospamforsburg at salk.edu> wrote:
: An interesting article in the online SALON magazine
: (http://www.salonmagazine.com/it/feature/1999/03/24feature.html) asks
: Does academic life lead to divorce? It describes how many consider that
: "to be a serious scholar one must subjugate one's personal life to the
: professional, and, at the very least, never mention that one does have
: a personal life that might interfere with one's ability to do research
: or relocate for a job. To do otherwise is to raise the specter of
: dilettantishness, and, for women especially, to risk marginalization."
I, too, found this article very interesting, but am still looking for
answers. Am I naive in thinking that by putting my personal development
and family life first, I will still be able to do science, even if it is
only marginal? Do I really care what other people think of me, if I am
happy with my own life? Are we better off divorced than with a jealous,
unsupportive husband? Does academics cause divorce or just catalyze what
is already destined to happen?
I have found grad school much more beneficial in terms of personal growth
than academic development. Grad school has really uncovered some of the
ugliness in me, as well as my strengths, but what to do next remains a
mystery. My choice is to remain true to myself, but that is said naively
at the start of a career. Has anyone out there tried being true to
themselves regardless of what people said you should do? How did it work
out?
Kelly.
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