my students make me feel very young and very old at the same time. old, because they are so young and young, because i feel too young to be an authority figure. how very liminal. it isn't lack of confidence, just a strange inability to define my relative status. in the department i can be young and wear a hello kitty sweater and pink sweat pants, but i have tried to dress more neutrally while lecturing. perhaps when i finish my doctorate i will embrace my new status and the experience, wisdom, and authority will flow naturally.