Observe and report

Dear Dr. G:

Hello, and I hope you are doing well since I last saw you at AEJMC. I’ve been thinking about you lately for a strange reason.

You once called me a dilettante, which made me mad at the time. It wasn’t really accurate for the situation (as I recall, you were upset with me because you wanted me to focus solely on my doctoral work, but I wanted to keep my full-time job, you know, so I could eat and have shelter).

I know your heart was in the right place, and that you were, in your own way, showing confidence in my ability to do scholarly research full time.

Though it may seem like I am a dabbler, it’s not that at all. It’s the opposite, actually. I throw myself into something fully, learn as much as I can, then I move on to something else. More short attention span than dilettante.

That’s why I have five degrees (yes, five). It is also why my résumé looks like the life of eight different people.

If I could, I’d have more jobs (in addition to the one I have now, which I love). Some of these jobs include:

• Flight attendant (A waitress in the sky? Yes!)
• Travel writer
• Tour guide for some exotic location
• Cruise ship social director or bartender  (like Julie or Isaac from The Love Boat)
• Personal chef (Wait … I think I already am.)
• Character actress (like Rebel Wilson)
• Personal assistant to someone nearly crazy (Think of the stories I could tell!)
• NBC page (that’s one of those unfulfilled college ideas)
• Beta tester for games
• Game show host
• Full-time employee at my university’s study-abroad campus in France (!)
• Owner of a craft brewery
• PR executive for Disney
• Train conductor
• State senator

Maybe Santa can bring me new names for my contact list to help me accomplish my goals.

So yes, I am interested in many things. Dilettante? No. Focused? Yes, for periods of time. Game show host? I can only hope. Thanks for helping me in one of my pursuits.

Anyway, happy holidays, and I look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C.

Sincerely,
Beth, Aspirational Polymath