coming out of the doctoral closet

Sometimes, you feel like you just don't fit in. To combat the winter blues, I've been participating in a discussion group for the past few weeks. This is a real group, not a cyber-group. Only a couple of people in the group know me very well and I haven't offered a lot of information about myself to the rest of them. So the discussion turned to "what kinds of people make you uncomfortable?" For me, it must be anyone I don't know well, as I was sitting there doing my best imitation of a clam. One person spoke up and said that persons of Middle Eastern descent made her uncomfortable. Oh good, I thought to myself, I guess she figured out that my dark hair and eyes were from American Indian heritage and not something more politically unpopular. Then another person spoke up and said people with Ph.D. degrees made him uncomfortable. At this point, I was "outed" as a Ph.D. by my friend. Everyone turned to stare. I don't remember what else was discussed after that.

I think I'll take a hiatus from the group for a couple of weeks. They could use the break.