Re point 4, when I got my MA, one of the faculty was appalled that I wasn’t going to go on for a PhD. He said, “You Midwesterners, you’re happy just being average, you never like to stick your neck out.” Re your point about small-town rural conformity, yes, but within the bounds of that conformity, there is great freedom for idiosyncrasy—much more than in the suburbs. One of my high school buddies moved back to Tyke and took over his dad’s farm, but kept his long hair and Harley and his not-at-all small-town rural political views, and he was tolerated in a way that you’d never see in suburban America.
Alas, my imposter syndrome has gotten worse as I age. Just turned 59, been doing product management for 27 years of that time, and I am still terrified that someone will figure out that I am just faking it.
Re point 4, when I got my MA, one of the faculty was appalled that I wasn’t going to go on for a PhD. He said, “You Midwesterners, you’re happy just being average, you never like to stick your neck out.” Re your point about small-town rural conformity, yes, but within the bounds of that conformity, there is great freedom for idiosyncrasy—much more than in the suburbs. One of my high school buddies moved back to Tyke and took over his dad’s farm, but kept his long hair and Harley and his not-at-all small-town rural political views, and he was tolerated in a way that you’d never see in suburban America.
Alas, my imposter syndrome has gotten worse as I age. Just turned 59, been doing product management for 27 years of that time, and I am still terrified that someone will figure out that I am just faking it.