Dr. Septimus M. Terrapin, Wandering Bureaucrat
I think I’m doing pretty well, but am also anxious about whether that’ll continue to be the case in the future – or, even worse, about whether it’ll turn out I was never really doing as well as I thought I was at all. Which I understand to be a pretty common human emotion to have in these uncertain times.
Specifically, I’m living with my parents right now while I look for my first job out of grad school, and while some interviews seem to have gone well, I’ve thought that about other interviews in the past and been rejected. Actually, last month I got hired for what seemed like a nice little part-time job, but then I got suddenly fired after only a week with no warning and with no coherent reasoning behind it. So I’m still pretty shaken from that, but trying to soldier on anyways and hope the next one turns out better.
Community is a complex beast. We all long for perfect in-person communities that accept and love us, but don’t always get them. Even online friends, a lesser but more accessible substitute, can fail us. When that happens, I think it’s a commendable thing to cry out to the cold vacuum of anonymous online communities, especially fandom. It may seem foolish and impossible, but one can find hope, meaningfulness, and understanding here, in some small form, if one tries.
Good luck out there, and stay safe!
English (US) · 