Superwoman Goes Camping: The On-Going Quest to Right-Size My Life

Abstract

I came to the professoriate as a second career at the age of 48. After over two mostly enjoyable and successful decades as an administrator in the K-12 environment, I now have significant autonomy to do work I truly love. Doing so in the women-centered environment of my university during my midlife years has been liberating in unexpected ways, while it simultaneously brings me face-to-face with the fundamental primordial issues of who and how I am. The chapter uses camping as a metaphor to (1) recount experiences of constraint and liberation in a context of dominant narratives and expectations and (2) explore the challenges of decision making in a context of opportunity. Ultimately, I encourage myself and others to release ourselves from pursuits that undermine our well-being, recognize when we have and do enough, and embrace the perfect imperfection of our human condition.