I've been in Ann Arbor
for a few days at a meeting with my professional friends. It was a good place
for me to be right now. They care about me, respect me, and want what is best
for me, in my professional and personal life. They make me feel valued,
they seek me out, they listen to me. Over the course of 2 days our
conversations moved nimbly from survey design and measurement to spirituality
and family.
A few weeks ago I was in
New Orleans at our population association professional meetings and attended a
50 year anniversary reception for the Penn Population Studies Center. I was
able to spend time with my grad school mentors and friends and felt the same
way, I belong. I am continually struck by the different types of friends I
have and the varied roles they all play in my life.
I wonder if those kind of friendships develop in
other types of occupations, like accountants or assembly line workers. Certainly
one of the nice things about academic life is that you can have contact with
the same group of people for years. These are the people who have seen me
"grow up." I think there is something to be said for these kind
of relationships, they are a nice complement to more intimate, personal friends.
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