The product of academia

Hi, I'm Kira, and I have something to confess:

I am the child of two academics.

Henry David Thoreau is quoted at the dinner table, discussions about the word "relatable" are common in our household. Encyclopedias are our Bibles. We die a little on the inside every time someone says "these dishes need done." Because in this instance, friends, the answer to "to be or not to be?" is to be. It's always to be. On a wild Friday night, my parents will turn on the History Channel and if they're really feeling crazy, consume an extra dessert.

Shit happens when pumpkin pie is involved. Don't let its innocent shiny surface let you think otherwise.

So, as the child of two academics, I grew up to be bookish, to think that literary theory was something every family discussed at dinner, and to not even question if I was going to college. And in the midst of students who go to college simply to get that degree and score some memorable partying stories, I feel like some rare breed who must be kept in a cage to examine and mock. I've been called "lame," "no fun," and even "sheltered" because I choose to stray from the partying lifestyle. And thus, I question, if I had non-academic parents, would I be partying like it was 1999 right about now? Would I even have a love for books and writing? Would I even be in college?

I can tell you this much: I certainly wouldn't even be considering grad school. Which is, unfortunately, the new college.

Not to say that academics didn't have their fun in college; it's not like professors are one big cluster of lame. They still make choices on an individual level, I'm just saying that to stay in on Saturday night and write an essay that's due in a month is stereotypically "professor-ish." 

I guess this is just a product of the on-going nature/nurture debate. Clearly parents have a huge effect on their kids, but it's not like I'm a clone of my parents. I mean, none of them have an obsession with wearing fuzzy animal hats, nor did they have any interest in yoga. But in the general scheme of things, they've conditioned me to think, to question, to turn to books when I'm feeling lost about something. A child wouldn't think to find the answers in books if they'd never been introduced to them in the place where they spend the most time, or where they're most influenced.

Personally, I love having professors as parents, especially when the due date of that English paper rolls around. Though it can be intimidating to have three different sets of in-depth notes for my revisions, having those references helps me grow as a writer, as well as a person. I may have waved off intellectual conversations as "dorky" when I was a kid, but I'm now seeing how valuable they were to my success as a college student.

A fantastic professor, even more fantastic father

A goofy dad who's serious about teaching

Snugglefest ^_^

Couldn't imagine a better mom

I wasn't born with the brains of a professor, and I'm still far from being a genius. The difference is, I've always been told the reasons for going to college, what to get out of it. And it isn't just to party hardy, get a degree and run to the next high paying job. I've been taught to think critically, to dig deeper than the surface to get to the meaning of a challenging text/problem. Maybe it's enough for some to see a challenging text in "i like u, but i don't wanna date u," but to me, it's rewarding to work through Dickens and Shakespeare and to better understand the world from both a critical and personal perspective.

Also, it doesn't hurt to have connections within the university.

Namaste.