luck

I am one lucky person. No, I didn't win the lottery. Sorry, folks, but if I do, I promise to share. It occurred to me last night as I was in my grad course in authorship just how damn lucky I am. I'm at a great school in an excellent department with people who get along and do fun things together and I'm teaching what I want to teach in my very first year. I had so much fun last night talking about authorship with students who are not 100% disciplined--it's such a generative process. I realized this morning that I can't really plan anything for Tuesday mornings. After class last night, I took a long walk with the Belly girl and then watched L&O SVU and then read and didn't get to sleep until after midnight (late for me).

In class last night, we were talking about what Susan Miller calls the "established cultural privileging mechanisms" that function to designate some writers authors and others, well, not so much. So much of becoming an author is arbitrary, about luck and, as the saying goes, about who you know. Now, I'm not saying that I got this job out of luck. I worked damn hard. But as students and I discussed last night, hard work--be it publication or the degree--is necessary but certainly not sufficient for success as an author or as a job candidate. But we're so often led to believe--and we lead students to believe--that hard work will get you what you need.

Hillary would add to this entry my luck in finding great apartments and now this house. I'm a 20-minute walk from school. I've got a fenced-in yard for the girl, a garage, a screened-in back porch, and I never have to go to the laundromat (quarters can now be used for bubblegum). And I did it all online--no visit necessary.

It's January 25, and I'm keeping my New Year's resolution. They say most keep them for an average of six weeks. Talk to me in March.