Today I have to eat the proverbial frog. 

Sigh.

There are times when I get really tired of getting feedback on what I’ve written.

It happens a lot in my job – it’s academia, it’s what we do. I’ve written about this before – we put ourselves out there and let others comment on – and change – what we’ve put on screen / paper. 

I don’t think it ever gets easier. I mean, it’s not like I’m not used to it – this has been my life for a really long time. 

But there are times I just want to sit down, and throw a tantrum. Seriously. I just want to say No, over and over and over again. 

I always go through and (usually) accept most of the comments and changes. But there are times when I just can’t make the change. Times when doing so would lose the “me” in what I wrote. And I know that people have preferences for what shows up where in a study proposal, or a review document. But so do I – and if it’s mine, I want my voice to come through. So it’s a balance of appeasing the reviewers (often more senior faculty members / mentors) and staying true to myself. 

I get to deal with nitpicky comments today. This is how it always is with this person – it’s kind of their MO. I know that, and still I am taken aback by the number of nitpicky comments and “suggestions” that show up. 

I like to think this has made ME a better reviewer. I actually go through my comments, or my article reviews, before I either return them to students, or submit the reviews online. I delete those that are just waaaay too picky and try to focus on those that are substantive. But it can be hard, particularly when you know there’s a “better” way of saying something – but you also know that changing it would change the voice of the person whose work it actually is. 

Gosh, this is a boring entry. All of this to say – it’s Monday, we’re still safer at home, I’m tired, and… I’m going to do this first. Get it over with. Fun start to the week! Ha. 

I hope your Monday is a bit nicer than mine. On the other hand, when I get through this, I can focus on other things… you know, like setting up a meeting with mentors to review comments on an unfunded grant submission. Ha. Apparently I never learn! 

Happy Monday.