The Home Stretch: Almost Done With Summer Research

"Tenure is the closest thing to a blood sport that first-class universities can offer: it is intensely competitive, all-consuming, exciting, fast, rather brutal and very male."

from Kay Redfield Jamison, _An Unquiet Mind_

This sentence has always stuck in my mind for capturing with clarity the harsh competitiveness of academia. If I remember correctly Jamison goes on to write that tenure in academic medicine is even more brutal than run of the mill trying to get tenure.

My boss this summer is not yet tenured on a combined research/clinical academic track at the #1 ranked vet school in the country.jkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkhkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkjmmmmmmmmmmmm
(that last part was added by Lindy, who apparently also has some feelings on this matter or, as may rather be the case, wants to stand or sit or walk on whatever I happen to be doing...)

I didn't work half as hard as my boss, but that being said, as much blood, sweat and tears as I put into my research this summer I feel as if I should be awarded some kind of degree. I feel like I should be graduating from something. Instead, it's doubtful I will even get any kind of authorship on a paper (which may reflect the quality of my work not being pretty enough to make a good image for publication, sadly, though my Westerns now are much more even with so much practice).

I'm looking forward to a change of pace and starting classes. Unfortunately this summer has not built my confidence. I have my doubts about how well I can excel at this particular version of a blood sport. I'm going to have to toughen up, that much is for sure. And I'm probably not headed for academia!