Refreshed

I spent the last few days at the Western States Communication Association conference in Denver, my old stomping grounds. Over the last several years, I've become dismayed with academic conferences in my field, particularly NCA. NCA is expensive, swarming with people, and those in attendance either have huge egos or drink too much (or both). If you're not from a R1 institution, you don't amount to squat. Even though I don't care for NCA, I typically attend. It's a great way to connect with friends scattered hither and yon, check out the new wares of publishers, and spend some time in the big city. The last two years, however, the cost to my mental wellbeing hasn't been worth the price of admission. I return home, dejected that I'm not one of the academic cool kids and that my path through higher education isn't seen as valuable as others. Who wants to hang with the guy from the liberal arts college who publishes once every 18 months? I realize most of my consternation is in my own head but I'll be damned if I don't need therapy after getting back from the national conference.

Western States, a smaller regional conference, was an entirely different experience. I spent time with friends, attended a couple excellent panels, presented some of my recent writing, and had an excellent time. A longtime mentor validated my career path and life choices, several former colleagues from my ABD/adjunct days let me know how much my presence is missed, and numerous graduate students and soon-to-be graduating undergrads made a point to tell me that I'd inspired them to pursue graduate studies or become a Speech Communication major.* A friend and I commiserated, over a leisurely three hour dinner, about the challenges of parenting, teaching, and writing. It's nice to know I'm not the only parent who can't wait to drop my kid off at daycare and get to work. We even talked about collaborating on some work (nothing related to kids, thank you very much).

While I still need therapy--I suspect that will be the case throughout my adult life to a greater or lesser degree--I returned home from this conference rejuvenated and revitalized. I can't wait to work on some of the projects I discussed with colleagues.

*My BA/MA alma matter hosted the convention. I bathed in the comfortable glow of green and gold.