I heard from the Spencer Foundation, didn’t get it this year. Big disappointment, lasted for a few days.
A friend made her goal, and inspired the rest of us to think about how we can make big dreams happen.
In sum: doubting myself, and believing in others. And feeling amazed it’s May, and so much has happened, and hasn’t, and it’s all about to change again.
Perspective, focus, from a favorite photo taken the other day. Waiting to hear this week about that fellowship I applied for last October (they said by end of April). A chai latte from Starbucks on the plaza in the sun (my first time in Barcelona). Wandering through the late spring afternoon, arms linked with my husband, wondering about what comes next for us. Reading the newspaper in Catalan and understanding it. Debating language politics while eating tapas, perched on high stools in a Basque place near our house. Now, dusk falling over the courtyard out our bedroom window, stillness falling across the bed. The muffled voices of neighbors arguing above us. Two weeks left in this apartment, this city, this space of our lives.
An important part of being in academia, starting with graduate school in most places, is seeking out funding for research. Whether you’re looking at social questions like I am, or searching for answers to climate change, all research depends on funding, and whether you get it depends on grant proposals. This involves learning to package your work in different ways, talk about its importance to different people, zoom in or out of the details. I’ve done this successfully once, with the Fulbright, but the Fulbright application process is much different (and arguably easier) than most other application processes, because you’re limited to 2 pages. I’m currently working on a dissertation fellowship application for the Spencer Foundation, which receives 600 applications a year and awards 20. Very steep odds! But worth a try, I think. Just going through the process has been a learning experience, and helped me refine my project.
Most professional fields require selling yourself, looking for funding or a position, figuring out how to move forward with your work. The most challenging aspects of this for me are:
What about you? Have you applied for grants or other positions to support your own creative or intellectual work? What has your experience been?
