Academia is the Way, or Is It?

I always knew I wanted to earn my PhD. I began my academic journey with an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts, envisioning a future in graphic design and perhaps pursuing an advanced degree in that field. However, I quickly discovered that not only was I terrible at graphics, but I also despised it. During this time, I took a few electives and stumbled upon psychology. Instantly captivated, I decided to shift directions and enroll in a joint honours program.

Twelve years of university later—including nine in graduate school—I completed my doctorate in social and developmental psychology, with a specialization in cyberpsychology and technology use. After graduation, I worked in various roles while searching for a full-time position. My journey took me to a university nursing department as a research coordinator, then to a teaching centre at another local university as an instructional designer for online courses.  Along the way, I balanced full-time work with part-time teaching positions, holding out hope for a breakthrough. Finally, after a few months at the teaching centre, I landed a full-time position as a professor at a local college. There, I began teaching psychology, cyberpsychology, and artificial intelligence.

At my core, I’ve always been an academic—grounded in scientific inquiry, methodologies, and evidence-based research. My academic training emphasized precision: years of courses in methods and statistics, conducting large-scale studies, and drawing conclusions supported by data. Yet, I often felt like there were two opposing sides of me, two extremes that needed reconciliation. On one hand, I was a methodical, data-driven researcher. On the other, there was a burning part of me that defied tangible explanation.

For years, I searched for a sense of purpose, exploring different roles and hobbies in the hope of uncovering my destined path. I studied divorce mediation, thinking that might be my calling. I volunteered, conducted research, and taught. Briefly, I explored launching a consulting business with colleagues. I even considered writing the LSATs or starting over in a completely different career path, like medicine—all while reminding myself I had already spent 12 years in university earning my doctorate. I clung to the hope that something would click, and I’d know exactly what I was meant to do.

What I didn’t realize was that my purpose—and, more importantly, my true self—had been there all along. I just needed to open my eyes and my mind to see it.