In my frustration (and also complete lack of confidence in my ability to do anything meaningful) I went to meet with my professor. Roger is, really, one of the nicest guys. I don't really know how to describe him except that he's incredibly nice, and I mean that in the truest most sincere way. He is friendly, welcoming, and encouraging. He also provides good feedback for me, however when he does it he usually gives a little sentence about "how he's just spitballing here." Kind of like giving a preface in a book to explain his explanation and intentions - he gives me a short preface before diving in. The other thing about Roger, is that he's brilliant. He is a wealth of knowledge, and that knowledge is just sitting up there in his brain. So when I went to meet with him, I just really wanted him to unlock his brain, and dump the contents all over the table. I really needed him to throw it all out there, no preface, and tell me what he really thinks I should do, because I was at a total loss. I had given him almost 20 pages of something that I was now convinced was complete crap and I needed a brainy guide to help me see an end; to help me commit. Maybe it was my expression of frustration, maybe that I came in completely lost in my project, or maybe I was just more receptive to the tidings he usually provides--whatever it was this time, the brain was unlocked and we found a way to sort through his ideas, connect them to mine, and get back on track.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Unlocking the Brain
As I may have mentioned, this semester I am doing an independent study, which means I mostly work on my own and meet with my professor to check in about the work I am doing. I created my own syllabus and a reading schedule to reflect what I wanted to study, which is faculty. Several times I have commented to my friends that despite there being several faculty at MSU who are experts in the field of the academic profession, there are very few courses taught on this explicitly. Jim, my previous supervisor shared this sentiment with me, which is why I picked it up. I should add that Jim is one of the experts on faculty careers, and also influenced my interest in it. Since this has developed into an interest of mine, I tapped one of my professors to help me do this independent course, and it's been very exciting and also frustrating. The excitement is that I get to choose basically everything I want for the course with a little guidance. The frustration is that I do, as mentioned in a previous post, have a tendency to not commit to my research projects.
In my frustration (and also complete lack of confidence in my ability to do anything meaningful) I went to meet with my professor. Roger is, really, one of the nicest guys. I don't really know how to describe him except that he's incredibly nice, and I mean that in the truest most sincere way. He is friendly, welcoming, and encouraging. He also provides good feedback for me, however when he does it he usually gives a little sentence about "how he's just spitballing here." Kind of like giving a preface in a book to explain his explanation and intentions - he gives me a short preface before diving in. The other thing about Roger, is that he's brilliant. He is a wealth of knowledge, and that knowledge is just sitting up there in his brain. So when I went to meet with him, I just really wanted him to unlock his brain, and dump the contents all over the table. I really needed him to throw it all out there, no preface, and tell me what he really thinks I should do, because I was at a total loss. I had given him almost 20 pages of something that I was now convinced was complete crap and I needed a brainy guide to help me see an end; to help me commit. Maybe it was my expression of frustration, maybe that I came in completely lost in my project, or maybe I was just more receptive to the tidings he usually provides--whatever it was this time, the brain was unlocked and we found a way to sort through his ideas, connect them to mine, and get back on track.
In my frustration (and also complete lack of confidence in my ability to do anything meaningful) I went to meet with my professor. Roger is, really, one of the nicest guys. I don't really know how to describe him except that he's incredibly nice, and I mean that in the truest most sincere way. He is friendly, welcoming, and encouraging. He also provides good feedback for me, however when he does it he usually gives a little sentence about "how he's just spitballing here." Kind of like giving a preface in a book to explain his explanation and intentions - he gives me a short preface before diving in. The other thing about Roger, is that he's brilliant. He is a wealth of knowledge, and that knowledge is just sitting up there in his brain. So when I went to meet with him, I just really wanted him to unlock his brain, and dump the contents all over the table. I really needed him to throw it all out there, no preface, and tell me what he really thinks I should do, because I was at a total loss. I had given him almost 20 pages of something that I was now convinced was complete crap and I needed a brainy guide to help me see an end; to help me commit. Maybe it was my expression of frustration, maybe that I came in completely lost in my project, or maybe I was just more receptive to the tidings he usually provides--whatever it was this time, the brain was unlocked and we found a way to sort through his ideas, connect them to mine, and get back on track.
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