I looked ahead to next week's paystub to see my first "tenured" check. I want you all to see what being a "fancy" #tenured #PhD looks like in financial terms and what it cost me to get here as a #firstgen working class kid raised by a single mom. #AcademicTwitter

To get here, I:
-spent 12 years dealing with white supremacist heteropatriarchal bullshit in higher education (BFA/MA/PHD: 1997-2013, with a 4 year break between MA and PhD).

-accrued student loan debt (b/c funding was never enough for the supplies, conferences, travel, housing, food, research). I also had to leave/lose everything and start over TWICE due to IPV and loans were the only option. That balance, after years of paying, is still at $81,202.

-moved away from family and friends--which was good for developing into my own person but remains really fucking shitty when it comes to having easy access to support systems.

I know coming into my purpose as a teacher of feminist "soldiers" is not about the money. But today, right in this moment, when #gettingtotenure means an extra $20 a month, it IS about the money.