Confirmed.
I was right about the job; they gave it to a candidate with more experience at a community college. However, the VPAA called me personally to give me the news, and she was really nice about it, saying my “credentials are impeccable” (direct quotation), that it was nice to discover I was just as good a candidate in person as on paper, and that “someone is sure to snatch [me] up.” Well, I hope she’s right! She invited me to keep a lookout for another possible position at the school that could open up soon and to reapply if I was interested.
You know, it’s very disappointing, but at the same time, I appreciated the personal and encouraging rejection. At least I came in second, which doesn’t necessarily help me immediately, but maybe it should give me faith that I will do better on the job market this year with degree in hand.
I wish I was one of those people who thinks everything happens for a reason. I truly do not believe this; I think life is generally more random than that. However, who knows? Maybe those people are right, and things at some point in the future will appear to have happened for some reason. In the meantime, I have plenty of classes to teach for the fall, so I better get started writing those syllabi!
I’m not one of those people who thinks everything happens for a reason (war and violence and bullshit offer too much counter-evidence), but I do think that we can *find* some reason in almost anything–it’s just a choice about how you read.
This is inspiring me to read Eve Sedgwick’s whole article on reparative (OMG how do you spell that word?) reading, because this is what I think it’s really about. How can I find a non-paranoid way to read my life?
And even though I, with Nick Cave, reject the notion of an Interventionist God, I have total faith that you’ll be snapped up by some place where you’ll learn a ton about teaching and be able to connect with students and change people’s lives.
Okay, I’m now actually getting embarrassed by my Pollyannaism, but I also wanted to say how much I appreciate your logging this process–if you can do it, I’m less terrified.
| Posted 1 year, 3 months ago