Beginnings

As far back in my academic career as I can remember, I have identified with men. My favorite high school authors included all the heavy hitters: Salinger, Hemingway, Twain, and Fitzgerald. In undergrad, a professor told me I was a gay man trapped in a woman's body because of my attitudes towards women and feminism (I would still appreciate further explanation of that one). During my Master's, I was told I think like an old dead white guy because I enjoy Derrida and still enjoy Hemingway. I now find myself on the brink of beginning work on my PhD in English, and thought it would be worthwhile to record my academic thought as it (hopefully) evolves over the next four to five years. Because I utilize feminist and gender criticism and plan to focus my dissertation on women writers, I want to see if I am still perceived as a male-identified scholar and if my work reflects this. Plus I'm hoping my adventures as a young blonde female in the academic jungle might provide some interesting scenarios for me to expound on. Are the old stereotypes true? Will I fall for and sleep with an older male Hemingway-esque professor? Are TAs really treated like indentured servants? Is teaching first-year writing going to be as painful as I imagine it will be? Etc., etc. Mostly I hope to capture the process, the growth, so I can recognize in four years if I still look down on the pretentious and admire the big egos that have the brains to back it up, and see if how I view gender, women, and everything in between alters after exposure to the highest level of American education. Here's to those foolish enough to endeavor in obtaining a PhD in the Humanities.