I sat down with four different undergrad students and helped them with an essay for class. At first I was nervous, What if I have no idea what to tell them? What if they don’t take my advice seriously? But nothing like that happened. They were all really enthusiastic and appreciative of my advice. Afterwards they all wanted to meet with me again even though it wasn’t required. It was so wonderful to feel so needed and helpful and also to feel like I knew what I was talking about. Once I began discussing their paper with them autopilot sort of kicked in and I realized- Holy Crap! I know how this paper could be improved! I know about this stuff! I have a skill! All of the silly knowledge floating around my head has a function!

Maybe it’s just beginners luck, maybe I’ll feel differently after eight hours of this next week, but for now I’m excited and optimistic and it feels fantastic.