sophomoric tendencies
When I was either a junior or senior in high school, I asked Mrs. Vosovic (the Great English Teacher from high school) what classes she requested to teach. She told me that she asked not to teach sophomores. I asked her why. She told me to examine the etymology of the word. Then she elaborated a little bit about how sophomores are annoying because they know more than freshmen, so they think they know everything, but in fact they know very little.
Well, I am now in my sophomore year of graduate school, even though we don't call it that, and my sophomore nature is manifesting itself as severe irritation at people who tell me things that I already know. Like for example--most people in my lab know more than I do, but it's no longer the case that everyone in my lab knows more than me about everything related to this lab. And also, we're all grad students, and consequently we are all know it alls who think that everyone really wants to know what we have to say all the time!! (except for me because I'm perfect in this scenario!!) So sometimes I ask something of people who I think will have useful answers--and get other people, who are sitting in the same room, to give me not so useful commentary, just because they think that everything they say must be magnificently useful. Or something.
It was a humiliating experience for me to learn that not everything that pops into my head is worth saying, even if it is pertinent to the matter at hand. I still cringe, occasionally, when I remember that summer after high school when I first confronted this sobering reality. But I think it's made me a better, if not kinder, person. Sometimes I wish other people could have these kinds of humiliating experiences and learn from them.
Well, I am now in my sophomore year of graduate school, even though we don't call it that, and my sophomore nature is manifesting itself as severe irritation at people who tell me things that I already know. Like for example--most people in my lab know more than I do, but it's no longer the case that everyone in my lab knows more than me about everything related to this lab. And also, we're all grad students, and consequently we are all know it alls who think that everyone really wants to know what we have to say all the time!! (except for me because I'm perfect in this scenario!!) So sometimes I ask something of people who I think will have useful answers--and get other people, who are sitting in the same room, to give me not so useful commentary, just because they think that everything they say must be magnificently useful. Or something.
It was a humiliating experience for me to learn that not everything that pops into my head is worth saying, even if it is pertinent to the matter at hand. I still cringe, occasionally, when I remember that summer after high school when I first confronted this sobering reality. But I think it's made me a better, if not kinder, person. Sometimes I wish other people could have these kinds of humiliating experiences and learn from them.