{"id":1295,"date":"2012-08-30T11:03:31","date_gmt":"2012-08-30T18:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.malcs.org\/archive-2017\/?p=1295"},"modified":"2012-09-01T12:16:01","modified_gmt":"2012-09-01T19:16:01","slug":"back-to-school-beatitudes-10-academic-survival-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2012\/08\/30\/back-to-school-beatitudes-10-academic-survival-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Back-To-School Beatitudes &#8211; 10 Academic Survival Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Suggested by Cristina Serna and Catriona Rueda Esquibel, from the <a title=\"Original post here\" href=\"https:\/\/crunkfeministcollective.wordpress.com\/2012\/08\/30\/throwback-thursday-back-to-school-beatitudes-10-academic-survival-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Crunk Feminist Collective blog<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Be confident in your abilities.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>If you feel like a fraud, you very likely are suffering from impostor syndrome, a chronic feeling of intellectual or personal inadequacy born of grandiose expectations about what it means to be competent. Women in particular suffer with this issue, but I argue that it is worse for women-of-color (particularly Blacks and Latinas) who labor under stereotypes of both racial and gender incompetence. The academy itself also creates grandiose expectations, given the general perception of academicians as hypercompetent people. Secret: Everybody that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actin like they know, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know. So ask your question. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably not as stupid as you think. Now say this with me: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m smart enough, my work is important, and damn it, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna make it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be patient with yourself.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Be patient with your own process of intellectual growth. You will get there and it will all come together. You aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t supposed to know everything at the beginning. And you still won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know everything at the end (of coursework, exams, the dissertation, life\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6).<\/li>\n<li>Getting the actual degree isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t about intellect. It is about sheer strength of will and dogged determination. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Damn it, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna walk out of here with that piece of paper if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the last cottonpickin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 thing I do.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That kind of thinking helps you to keep going after you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve just been asked to revise a chapter for the third time, your committee member has failed to submit a letter of rec on time, and you feel like blowing something or someone up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<li><strong>Be your own best advocate. Prioritize your own professional needs\/goals.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>You have not because you ask not. You have to be willing to ask for what you need. You deserve transparency about the rules and procedures of your program, cordial treatment from faculty, staff and students, and a program that prepares you not only for the rigors of grad school but also for the job market (should you desire a career in academia). But folks won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hand it to you on a silver platter. You have to build relationships, ask questions, and make demands.<\/li>\n<li>Figure out your writing process (the place [home, coffee shop, library], time [morning, afternoon, night], and conditions [background noise, total silence, cooler or warmer] under which you work best and try to create those conditions as frequently as possible during finals, qualifying exams, and dissertation.<\/li>\n<li>Your self-advocacy will often be misperceived as aggression and anger, entitlement or selfishness. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t apologize.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be kind to yourself.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Reward yourself frequently. Most of us need positive affirmation of a job well done, but for long stretches, especially during exams, dissertation, and the job market, the rewards elude us; and often given the time crunch, once we conquer the mountain, there is little time to enjoy the view before it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to trudge back down and start climbing the next one. All that hard work in high stakes conditions for anti-climactic ends can take a toll on your psyche. So be kind to yourself. Figure out the things you really like and make sure to enjoy them as much as is possible and healthy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be proactive about self-care.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Figure out your non-negotiables. For me, sleep is non-negotiable. I must have it. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do all nighters. I also generally don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do weekends, so I adjust my schedule accordingly. What are your non-negotiables?<\/li>\n<li>Take advantage of on-campus therapy services. My last two institutions have had women-of-color thesis and dissertation support groups. Consider joining.<\/li>\n<li>Cultivate a spirit-affirming practice. Grad school\/the academy is a mind-body-spirit endeavor. So meditate, pray, exercise, do yoga, go to church, cook a good healthy meal. Do whatever you need to do to keep your mind, body, and spirit in balance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be a friend\/comrade to others and let them do the same for you.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Build community with colleagues inside or outside your department.<\/li>\n<li>Build community with non-students\/non-academics. You need folks who live life outside the dungeon. They will affirm you and help you keep things in perspective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a title=\"Link to original article\" href=\"https:\/\/crunkfeministcollective.wordpress.com\/2012\/08\/30\/throwback-thursday-back-to-school-beatitudes-10-academic-survival-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Original article continues at Crunk&#8230;..<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Suggested by Cristina Serna and Catriona Rueda Esquibel, from the Crunk Feminist Collective blog: Be confident in your abilities. If you feel like a fraud, you very likely are suffering from impostor syndrome, a chronic feeling of intellectual or personal inadequacy born of grandiose expectations about what it means to be competent. Women in particular [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1295","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-random-creativity","7":"entry","8":"override"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":794,"url":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2011\/10\/05\/job-life-sciences-open-rank-ucla\/","url_meta":{"origin":1295,"position":0},"title":"Job: Life Sciences, Open Rank, UCLA","author":"Theresa Delgadillo","date":"October 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Life Sciences Open Rank Faculty Search University of California Los Angeles The Division of Life Sciences (www.lifesciences.ucla.edu) in the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences announces a special initiative to recruit excellent research scientists with a history and commitment to the mentorship of students from underrepresented and underserved populations. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General News","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/category\/general-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":799,"url":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2011\/10\/05\/job-native-american-history-oberlin-college\/","url_meta":{"origin":1295,"position":1},"title":"JOB: Native American History, Oberlin College","author":"Theresa Delgadillo","date":"October 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"ASSISTANT PROFESSOR EARLY AMERICA THROUGH EARLY REPUBLIC: NATIVE AMERICAN The Department of History at Oberlin College invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position in the College of Arts and Sciences. Initial appointment to this position will be for a term of four years, beginning the first semester of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General News","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/category\/general-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":806,"url":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2011\/10\/05\/fellowship-women-in-science\/","url_meta":{"origin":1295,"position":2},"title":"Fellowship: Women in Science","author":"Theresa Delgadillo","date":"October 5, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"From:\u00c2\u00a0NIZ Virginia [mailto:VNiz@us.loreal.com] Sent:\u00c2\u00a0Wednesday, October 05, 2011 8:26 AM Subject:\u00c2\u00a0L'Oreal USA Fellowships For Women In Science 2012 Program Dear Educator, \u00c2\u00a0 On October 18, the L'Or\u00c3\u00a9al USA Fellowships For Women In Science program call for applications for the 2012 Fellowship Program will commence.\u00c2\u00a0 The program is entering its ninth year\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General News","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/category\/general-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":839,"url":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2011\/10\/11\/postdoc-fellowship-womens-and-gender-studies-rutgers-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":1295,"position":3},"title":"POSTDOC FELLOWSHIP: Women&#8217;s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University","author":"Theresa Delgadillo","date":"October 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The Women\u00c2\u2019s and Gender Studies Department, in collaboration with the Institute for Research on Women (IRW) at Rutgers University, is pleased to announce a two-year postdoctoral fellowship supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The selected fellow will receive a stipend of $51,500 each year as well as an annual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Jobs and fellowships&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Jobs and fellowships","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/category\/jobs-and-fellowships\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1350,"url":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2012\/10\/06\/conf-women-of-color-in-the-academy-apr-2013-ui-urbana-c\/","url_meta":{"origin":1295,"position":4},"title":"Conf:  Women of Color in the Academy, Apr 2013 (UI Urbana-C)","author":"la Webjefa","date":"October 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The inaugural Women of Color in the Academy (WCA) Conference will be held on April 3-5, 2013, hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The\u00c2\u00a0conference will focus on Issues of Politics and Scholarship, and will feature keynotes by Professor bell hooks; Vice President and Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise; President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General News","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/category\/general-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1392,"url":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/2012\/11\/16\/faculty-women-of-color-conf-april-3-5-at-urbana-champaign\/","url_meta":{"origin":1295,"position":5},"title":"Faculty Women of Color Conf, April 3-5 at Urbana-Champaign","author":"la Webjefa","date":"November 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The inaugural Faculty Women of Color in the Academy\u00c2\u00a0(FWCA) Conference, April 3-5, 2013, will be hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year's conference will focus on Issues of Politics and Scholarship, featuring prominent keynotes and panelists. The conference will feature keynotes by Professor bell hooks; Vice President\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Announcements&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Announcements","link":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/category\/announcements\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2012\/11\/bellhooks.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malcs.org\/archive-2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}