When people ask me what I do now I try to change the subject. Failing that I give an addled and incomplete version that is often willfully deceptive. When someone else seizes control and tells the full truth I feel a flush of embarrassment and my ears turn red.
But since I live in a place where many people assign high value to professional credentials, the question comes up all the time. Iām not getting better with the answers.
But, delightfully, people often inquire about your educational background, and last weekend someone asked about my thesis.
Now, remember, I finished graduate school twelve long years ago. But I did not have to pause or think before I replied I used a participatory research methodology to examine the implementation of federal civil rights laws at the state and local level.
Sigh.
I do not miss that career. Though it was easier to explain.