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*nods* I think of academia as a wide community, incorporating those active within 'academic' fields of study and who are engaged in study and dialogue in order to push forward our knowledge or understanding of ourselves or our world. I also see it in more concrete terms. A little like a craft guild, if you like, which maintains a degree of control over who and what is incorporated into 'academia' in order to maintain a high level of excellence. I see it also as a historical continuum of which i now am part.
[eta] at a more emotional level, it is the dream I held most dear at a very young age. It is an arena in which my talents shine (though not the only one. My brief flirt with politics showed I wasn't half bad at that field either - disturbingly) and which allows me to stretch my mental muscles. I am just finally, now, in my dissertation, being let off the training reins *smiles* and I think I'm good.
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