Statement

         I used to consider myself an artist, or a history geek; basically, someone who
         considers her work her main passion and the most important thing in her life.

         What I've finally come to realize, after years of being this way, is that I really
         don't care about my work with that kind of intensity.

         At first I thought this was a drawback, since most grad students and professors
         that I know are wholly absorbed in their studies; I figured I must just be less
         suited to the profession than they are.

         Then I had to ask myself, if I don't care about my work, what do I care about?

         Turns out it's people, every time. I don't prioritize my work, because for me, family
         and friends will always come first. And the same goes for how I do prioritize my
         work: I care about history because I care about people, and the way they lived,
         and the way we can use history in the present to help us understand our world.

         I never expected I'd turn out to be a "people" person like this.