It is crazy to think that 2021 is soon coming to a close and that this Doctora is almost 2 years old! Time keeps flying and life keeps teaching me very important lessons. Two things that have really been resonating with me as of lately is how important it is to be yourself and how important relationships with other humans are, both professionally and personally. Let’s dive in! Being Authentically Yourself. As my closest friends and family know, I recently took on the job market since I am in the last year of my postdoctoral fellowship. During the whole process, I always had something in my mind, “what is for me, is for me no matter what!” And what this meant to me was that I am confident enough to know that I am qualified for the jobs I was applying for and now the matter was about matching with the job that was a fit for me. This mentality helped take a lot of pressure off of me and made me see that I do not need to do anything but show up as myself. And in showing up as myself for the interviews and job talks, I trusted that the right opportunity would show up when I least expected it. I admit that this is easier said than done, but when I started to get anxious, I reminded myself of these exact words “what is for me, is for me no matter what!” I also took comfort in talking with mentors and close friends about the process to normalize the anxiety I was feeling. You know, not knowing if you made a good impression or the thought of rejection. These are scary things to think about and it’s okay to admit it, we are human. When I went into the interviews and job talks, I let go of all the anxiety and trusted myself. I trusted in myself because I also only want to work in an organization where I know that all I have to be trusted and respected is to show up as myself. And that’s exactly what I did! How I presented myself, how I talked about myself and my experiences, were all tainted with the Lorena Aceves trademark and I could not be any more proud of myself. It took a lot of internal work for me to get to the point where I could trust myself like this, but when I trust myself I see that it is easier for me and the work I produce is much more beautiful too. Grad school Lorena could never see that because she was constantly being socialized to believe standards set up by dated systems and individuals who do not understand my experience or my goals. So I challenge you to be yourself, even if it is not aligned with what your program tells you, what academia tells you, and most importantly with what the world tells us about success and how to achieve our goals. You need to trust yourself and be yourself, because trust me it gets so much easier. Try it and you will see! Fostering Relationships. I think academia does a great job of telling us that networking is important for our careers and yes, YES it is but it is also more than that. In my short lived career, I see that networking is more than just meeting people for the sake of meeting people, especially with the people that you really vibe with. It is important to go the extra mile and foster relationships with the folks you really vibe with. And yes I mean vibe with. Yes, it is nice and cool to be connected with important and famous individuals, but if they are not living the kind of life you want or you are not inspired by their visions of their lives and their work, do you really want to be connected with them? Exactly! When you meet individuals that inspire you and you vibe with, go the extra mile. There are folks (more senior, at my level or even younger) I have met at conferences that I really connected with and made it a point to follow-up so that I could get to know them even more. This has led to opportunities to be a part of awesome projects, really great mentorship relationships that have been valuable for many reasons, and in some cases have even led to beautiful friendships. In my internships, it was the same thing! I met a ton of great people, and the ones that I really admired and connected with I have continued to stay in touch with and slowly I have seen my circle of individuals I trust and I know I could connect with in the case of needing guidance or pursuing an opportunity become so wide and meaningful. And even most importantly, I have been able to create meaningful relationships with individuals that I really admire and care about. I hope you all know that you mean a lot to me. And I know it is easy to get stuck in our own worlds, especially when work is busy or grad school takes over. Even then, we must have time to connect. First, it can relight your fire if you are feeling stuck or burnt out. Second, it can present an opportunity that you didn’t know you needed. And finally, you get to connect with individuals that really make a difference in your life and who knows you may make a difference in their lives too. So when going the extra mile, do not be afraid to reach out to old and new individuals that you can foster relationships with. And if someone doesn't respond, do not take it personally, you will connect with the right people, at the right time. I truly believe that! Let’s do this! I hope this blog post inspires you to be your authentic self and pushes you to make some new connections especially as many of you begin to interview for grad school, postdocs, or jobs. I believe in you! I want to see you all show up in this world as yourselves, because you have a gift that the world needs!! Please believe it, we need you! PS. If you were curious, I landed a job I am SO SO EXCITED ABOUT! More to come in the future about navigating the job market and pursuing your dreams. 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AuthorDr. Lorena Aceves unapologetically telling you the real deal about being brown in an academic world, but deciding she is going to be her authentic self and make her wildest dreams come true en esta vida! Archives
November 2022
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