Living liminally

I've lived much of my academic life in the last 6 years liminally*. I've been between worlds: not fully a student nor a teacher. I have worked for and with professors for so long that this not-being has become rather normal. Many students are TAs for a short while, grading for a class or doing some research. I've been doing this longer than most, and have had close relationships with those I teach for/with. I've been fortunate to work for/with multiple faculty members who haven't seen me as a TA. In their eyes, or so they tell me and our students, I am a co-teacher in the classroom. In many ways, I am their colleague. However, as much as they may see me as a colleague, and as much as I can feel like one, I also cannot forget that they assign me grades (in many cases), determine my teaching appointments, and decide if I get to graduate. It's this betwixt and between nature of living liminally that has become second nature to me.

On Tuesday, I went to SLAC (that small liberal arts teaching college I have a job teaching intro to basketweaving at) to get the tour, meet the faculty, and all the other minutia of getting organized before the semester begins. It felt very strange, and it wasn't until my drive home that I realized that my relationship with the faculty there was different. Simply put, I wasn't their student. They hired me as an adjunct instructor, not a TA. So I have adjunct rights and benefits (parking, gym pass, long distance calling pass, my own wood-walled office). It's a bit strange to realize that I've been living in this inbetween world for so long without quite realizing how inbetween it really is. And it's strange to realize that I am only a few years shy of leaving this liminal place of becoming a professor to actual be one. I've been becoming so long, I wonder what it will be like to get there?

*Liminal is defined as the state of being in a transition or inbetween place. I learned this term from CultureProf when she introduced us to the work of Turner. Adolesence is a state of liminality (not a child and not an adult) and in many cultures, there are rites or rituals to help guide people during these inbetween times. I found the idea of liminiality confusing back then, but it has made much more sense to me over the years as I've had time to contemplate it more thoroughly. Thanks CultureProf