i think one of the unexpected downsides of having a phd, at least for me, is this quiet, persistent belief that i should be able to fix everything.

today it was a broken vegetable chopper. the spring popped out and refused to go back in. part of me wanted to just give up and move on, but there was this voice in my head going “you have a phd, you can figure this out”. and it’s not just today. i’ve done the same thing with the kitchen light, the faucets, random little things that probably didn’t need to become personal challenges.

what this really means, i think, is that i’ve started holding myself to this strange standard where academic validation somehow translates into practical competence in every corner of life. i think i appear to have developed a god complex about household objects. :/