Kim Priore

So school is off and running with a bang!  I started my Development course at Tufts last week, and this week started the rest of my courses at the good ol’ H-bomb.  So far I like them, I’m taking one on the theological and ethical issues raised by Hurricane Katrina and other catastrophes, and one on the struggle within Islam between moderates and extremists.  And I have to take an Old Testament class, to fulfill a requirement.  Because apparently 9 years of Christian school and 4 years as a religion major at Wellesley does not give me enough of a grasp of Scripture.  But whatever, it will be good to brush up, and obviously from a much different perspective than like, Mr. Schaaf’s junior high Bible class.  All of this in addition to my 2 jobs, which combine for a total of 20 hours a week.

Then I get an email from my work study boss, offering me a position as a teaching fellow in one of her courses, it’s on religion and international politics.  It’s an amazing opportunity – TFs are by and large PhD students, not lowly Masters’ candidates.  It would look good on a resume.  And the money’s good.  But Kim, you say, don’t you already have 2 jobs and a full course load, and isn’t this basically like taking a 5th course, since you’d have to do all the reading so as to be able to lead a discussion section?  Why yes, I say.  So Kim, you say, clearly you would be insane to take on this additional responsibility.  Well, I say, you clearly did not go to Wellesley.  You don’t share this pathological (yes that’s the correct use of the term) need to overachieve.  You believe in things like free time, a social life, having fun on the weekends, getting 8 hours of sleep a night.  I am very envious of you.

The thing is, this is very 21-year-old Kim of me.   Very Wellesley Kim.  A lot of you did not know Wellesley Kim, you have come into my life since.  You probably wouldn’t recognize her.  She was lean, hungry, ambitious, motivated.  She survived on like 4 hours of sleep a night.  29-year-old Kim, by comparison, has grown fat, lazy, complacent, and her goal is to marry rich.  I feel like I’ve suddenly traveled back in time.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is that in addition to wanting to feel *slightly* better about myself when I read the Class Notes section of the Alum Magazine and read about classmates who have like gone to law school, hiked Everest, started their own nonprofit, gotten married, and had kids, it really is an amazing opportunity and too good to pass up.  This is IF it all works out, and I hope I’m not jinxing it, I feel like someone in the administration is going to get the paperwork and realize this prof has overlooked the fact that I’m a total moron.  And besides, if the Sox made the playoffs this fall, I wouldn’t be getting much sleep anyway.  So really I figure I’m just using my allotted playoff sleeplessness for a slightly less noble cause. 

At any rate, if you don’t see much of me over the next few months it’s because I’m passed out drooling on a book somewhere.  I’ll pencil you in for some time in January.  Feel free to stop by the house, please bring coffee.  Thanks.