The Year We Moved Forward
When I was in 9th grade I broke my ankle. I was playing volleyball and I landed on another player’s foot. The ankle turned the wrong way and then I was in a cast for six or seven weeks. That summer, I remember removing the cast and being shocked by the lower leg muscle atrophy. I thought immediately about the upcoming basketball season. Upon reflecting on my limitations as a slow-to-medium, ground-bound, hustling/rebounding kind of player, I decided I would need to get to work if this basketball thing was going to continue. And so, I went to work during that summer building speed and strength back into my leg. I didn’t necessarily know what I was doing, but the high school track was just a short walk from our house, and so that is where I spent a lot of time during that summer. You could find me in the outside lanes of that track in the heat, trying my best to get my leg back.
There were two things on my mind that summer: The first was the injury — the concern about playing basketball again at even the modest level I was capable of before injury, and the worrying thought of having to move on from playing a game I really loved. The second was the moving forward — how I was making progress, and seeing how the work was leading to strength, and the strength was leading to additional confidence that I would actually be able to play again.
These days some of the similarities between then and now wash over me, and it is useful to reflect on the wisdom from that past experience. Certainly I am older and different from the boy who had dreams of playing high school basketball. I have a family, a career, and a body that can’t handle basketball anymore. Nevertheless, there is something that feels healing about forward motion. And so, given a little time to reflect on this year, which has been defined by the single negative event of a tenure denial, I have appreciated the space and opportunity to move forward.
Our work has continued to move forward. I think I have been worried about being the lab Debbie Downer, but, even if I have been down in moments, it hasn’t stopped us. Together our lab published seven papers this year, including one field experiment on prosocial behavior (started in 2014!). We also put several more papers out into the world for peer review which I hope we’ll be able to share soon. The lab also started several new projects and added new members to our community, which began to meet in person for the first time since 2019. Students in the lab continue to absolutely crush it on all fronts. Several of our lab alumni moved onto the next phase of their careers in new jobs in academia and industry. I put my work out in the world for some grants and awards and we won some of them (will share more soon). I started giving in-person talks again and attended my first conference since 2020. I also went out on the job market and things continue to look promising on that front (although still unsettled). I continue to feel overwhelmed by all the support during this time.
Our home lives have moved forward as well. My family and I try to stay positive and we spend time envisioning our new lives in what could be our next destination — my wife and I are big on manifesting a bright future for ourselves. We had a great summer together too: We went on some fun trips and have more planned. Our 9-year-old went to theatre camp, loved it, and is currently immersed in all sorts of related things. Our 6-year-old has been such a champion in his transition to a new school. Our resources have also allowed us to be pretty healthy this year.
I write all of this here because sometimes it helps me in those moments where I am being critical about myself, my work, and my choices to sit down and keep the score. That is, was this a terrible year? Or, was this a year where we moved forward? I am excited to keep moving forward in 2023 and beyond. I hope you keep moving forward, too.
