There must be a light under the bushel!

Real life or make-believe

My entries have been spaced so far apart lately that I feel the stifling feeling of brain rot coming on! The more work I do on my thesis, the more I just want to be creative. I considered going the PhD route but I have decided that world is simply not for me because I simply cannot understand it.

My confusion stems from the way I view life, I guess. I love teaching. It gets me fired up. I love creating ways of making information exciting for teenagers. I love getting off topic into ideas far removed from English, but held to it by a thin thread. I love seeing their eyes shift from glassed-over to reluctantly interested. I love seeing kids grow up and decide on exciting paths for their future. The subject interests me, but the people fascinate me.

I met with my thesis chairman yesterday. I have made some decent progress finally, so I submitted my chapters for review. I walk in and he gives me some compliments on what I have completed. Great! I was concerned about a horrid event where his face turned into a mutant snake/dragon and blew fire on my papers from in between his dagger-sharp teeth. So far, so good.

Then, I ask him some questions about expanding my topic a bit so that I can encompass more material and discuss my ideas for my next chapter. His chest puffs up, his face flushes, and air rushes out in gaspy breaths. He thinks that's a great idea; as a matter of fact, blah, blah, blah. He says this is a topic about which he could get really excited (please don't tell me this is tied to his libido!). He'll even get started helping me gather some data. He thinks this is going to be publishable. (Frighteningly, I think his libido is involved in the word publish...)

I have to put on a "presentation" in one of my other classes. No Power Points please, something creative. A girl in my group thinks it would be great if we acted out a skit and performed it. Her face lit up and she was totally animated discussing this make-believe program we had to design. Maybe we can even color some posterboards! AHHGGGG!!!!

I JUST CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!! It's a good thing I should finish this summer. These people are nuts. It's a world of ivory towers and no substance.
What about the PEOPLE? What about real life? Doesn't anyone want to know? And how can they get so excited about work that really doesn't produce anything beneficial for anybody? I already know the reality behind the study I'm perfoming, so how can this information be that substancial? It's glorified paperwork that fills people with a sense of self-importance. Although I thought I might enjoy teaching at the college level, I don't think I could handle the bonus fun that seems to go with it.