[Anna writes...] It's me. Actually, it's the research. 

​I have known I would leave academia since Monday, February 25, 2013. It was my first year of grad school. A professor in my department’s wife had had a baby the day before, on Sunday. On Monday he came into work like it was a normal day.

[Anna writes...] Let me start off by saying I firmly believe that Gary Johnson knows what “Aleppo” is and does, in fact, know many names of many foreign leaders. I believe this because when I listened to the recordings of those interviews, I had horrible comprehensive exam flashbacks.

​​Hello, my name is Anna, I’m a grad student, and I’m an ESFJ.

“Hi, Anna.”
​
Many don’t put a lot of stock into Meyers-Briggs and other personality tests, but the majority seem to gush over how accurately the tests “get them.” I’m with the majority.

I have discovered that two of my major complaints about graduate school are:
1.   I actually hate working alone, and
2.  There isn't any positive feedback. When you pass your comprehensive exams, or publish a paper (the "big" achievements), you're really just doing what you're supposed to do. You might get a pat on the back or a celebratory lunch with the lab, but really you're just relieved that you're not a bad student who didn't do those things.

Teaching, however, is the complete opposite.