
I’ve read the books that you wished you had
And I raced through a degree
With a full time job.
I write poetry and books
And have critical thoughts on important themes.
But deep down we know that I’ve lied a lot,
I’m a little bit lazy and I skim those books,
I was drunk when I studied
And depressed when I passed
And I only found freedom
When I let down that mask.
I’m an English teacher but I sometimes feel way too dumb to do the job. I feel like a fraud and one of my darkest secrets is that I know zilch about Shakespeare.
When I did my degree in Literature, I had one free choice module and I did one on European politics. I hadn’t really read the timetables for the other courses, and it was only once I started the module that I realised I would not be able to do the Shakespeare module. And so, now I know nothing.
And then I did a postgraduate law conversion course while working full time and taking a foundation course at work. The law textbooks were huge and there was no way I was going to have time to read them. So I just used Wiki to write my essays.
During my Literature degree I never figured out how to access the freaking library so I never read an academic book.
I still haven’t got round to finishing Harry Potter.
The list goes on.
I’m just writing all this because we all cheat and make do, and we all puff up our achievements to make ourselves sound better. But really we’re all just scared little children too scared to ask someone how I’m supposed to borrow a book.
You’re not alone.
Much Love
Rachel xx
Margot Kinberg
You’re right, Rachel. We all have big gaps in our knowledge. It’s impossible to know everything, anyway. You’re not an imposter if you don’t know it all!
clcouch123
My nephew stopped reading Harry Potter because he didn’t like it after the third story. I agree with him (though we are safe in the USA, asserting this). I skimmed so many stories in order to pass my comps. And as far as Shakespeare himself goes, what do we know, what can we know? Watch his plays to get the works in life. You’re right, Margot’s right: we have “big gaps” in our knowledge, and that has to be okay.
Greg Dennison
It’s never too late to learn…