I'm still recovering from my trip, so here are some shorter thoughts on current happenings. 

Life is a series of choices. But the choices we make are dictated by factors that are largely outside of our control; our choices are dictated by others’ choices and other circumstances that surround us. In both the debates about exploitation in academia and even within the feminist movement, the common refrain used to refute any complaints is that, “you have a choice” or “you made the choice, now live with it.”

Back in the day, music was expensive and books were cheap. A cassette (ahem) ran almost $15 and then a CD was at least $20. My books were (usually) paperbacks for less than $10. The library was also well-stocked with books that I wanted, while the music selection was less impressive. So my music collection largely consisted of mixed tapes I recorded off the radio and copies of the tapes of my friends. If there was a particularly expensive hardcover book I wanted, I would either get it from the library and buy it later in paperback or ask for it as a gift. We owned a lot of books in my house growing up (a lot of vinyl records, too), so it’s of little surprise that you would find me at swim meets plugged into my walkman, reading.

A little over a year and a half ago, I wrote a post describing how I was finally going to get rid of my collection of Canadian Literature (and corresponding critical materials). In it, I lamented how I would never use or read the books ever again (or even for the first time). It was time, I declared, to let go of the past, who I was professionally, and embrace who I was becoming. How things have changed in a short 18 months.