An Interesting Thing About Yourself

I'm interesting. No, really. I have done a bunch of really cool things. It's not just me who says this, people tell me.

I know what you're thing and I'm not a narcissist, I swear. There is a point to this! The point is that I have done some interesting things, and I bet you have too. Yet, none of us--interesting and non-interesting alike--enjoy doing that "introduce yourself" thing.

I have been in front of countless eyes. As a hip hop artist, I have performed music in front of thousands of people in countless venues across the country. As a teacher, I have stood in front of probably even more students in classrooms on two separate continents. In fact, bridging the two identities--student and hip hop artist--I once performed a song on a rooftop at sunset in Valparaiso, Chile. It was truly as magical as it sounds.

All that said, if I am in a situation where I have to say something "interesting about myself" so the "group can get to know each other," I want to vomit. I start sweating. I start scribbling endlessly, trying to produce a script to remind myself that I have something worthwhile to give.

It can't be too interesting but it also can't be just like everyone else. Oh gawd, its giving me anxiety just writing that. I know I'm not the only one. Why do we do this to each other?

We must secretly like to suffer.

Sigh.

Nevertheless, it feels necessary. So, hi, my name is Ian and this is my blog. I made it as I navigate the post-PhD life and try and disabuse myself of the particularly negative indoctrinations of academia. Notably, I was told, "...And don't start a blog. No serious academics start blogs."

So, I am starting a blog because I am often a contrarian but also because I like blogs. They are like tiny memoirs. Have you ever seen Julie and Julia? The film where Amy Adams plays Julie and starts cooking Julia Childs recipes as a way to get better at cooking and feel closer to her hero. (Spoilers: its Julia Childs). It brings her closer to her husband and she starts a blog and she becomes semi-successful and she learns a few things in the process. Its a sweet, great film. So, blogs can be fun and good.

And anyway, I think that if that advice about academics and blogs is true, its dumb. Moreover, up to now, academia doesn't seem particularly keen to hire me blogless. 50 applications submitted, 1 interview, zero hires.

(This is the part where if my advisor ever reads this, he would be texting me and telling me to erase this. It's fine Tristan, you have a blog too - blame yourself!)

Also, as a society we seem to reverting back to our nascent, only semi-curious and conscious selves, anyway. Meaning, Artificial Intelligence is making everything seem fake so the question becomes: whats real, whats authentic? You can make podcasts, write songs and read entire books with the click of a button. Making anything artistic that takes time seems ridiculous these days. Maybe the radical thing to do is to only sing songs in concert, only go see live theatre, read books and write in your physical journal but don't tell anyone about it.

I'm not quite there yet but I'm close. I'm blog-on-my-website-that-no-one-knows-about close.

So, here is my blog. I am making it because I like blogs and, truthfully, so that if I need an "interesting thing" at another academic roundtable or dinner table get together, I can say I have a blog and no one will think anything about it. It's just boring enough that no one will really care but just interesting enough that maybe someone asks me and creates a conversation. I can stop scribbling scripts and sweating until its my turn to talk. Plus, no one will believe me about the rooftop rap in Valparaiso, anyway.