On Monday I conducted an interview with a guy I’ve decided to write about. It’ll be my first real stab at a non-blogging, non-work, non-academic writing project, and I’m excited to see where it will go. Shandy Brown is a great subject. We met in 2006 on a plane leaving Toronto for San Francisco, and have been friends ever since. He was a computer programmer back then, obsessed with Python and living in Silicon Valley. Now he’s hoping to sustain himself making gorgeous board game accessories. After two successful Kickstarter campaigns and lots of great feedback, I think he’ll probably be able to manage it. This year, he told me last week, he aims to “prove it”: prove (to himself, to others) that his passion can pay his way. I’m certain he will.
I’ve been talking to people a lot about transitions. At first, it was in the context of my own post-PhD-ness. Now I realize that so many of us are in different sorts of transitions, and none of them are easy. We’re brought up to value certainty and clarity, judge some jobs better than others, and equate success with financial reward. But life—a good life—isn’t always about those things. Does anyone know what he or she wants to be when she grows up? Is that even a useful question? And what about “using” one’s degree? There’s an implied judgement in that question, too. No one wants to be seen as having wasted one’s time or money.
These are just a few of the issues most of us can relate to, whether we’re post-PhD or not. Our own expectations of our careers, and the desire to appear worthy and successful in the eyes of others, sometimes need a reset. There’s little point not living the best lives we can. And we get to decide what that means! It can take a while to realize this, which is why transitions are so difficult. But embracing the challenge—realizing that we determine what happiness means—is crucial. I won’t accept a lesser life. It’s inspiring to meet and talk to other people who feel the same way. Hopefully, we’ll all “prove it.”
In the meantime, wish me luck with this writing project!
