So, previously, my advisor compared students to rowers. Some did amazing work with crappy oar-substitutes, like disposable cups, challenging your notions of what is possible, even if what they do is not amazing in a broader sense. Others had state-of-the-art oars, but kept paddling in circles.
Guess which one she compared me to. At least it was a novel spin on “Stephen has so much potential, if only he’d apply himself.”
Well, at the peak of my last conversation with her, she extolled my virtues (fun guy, incredibly good at cross-linking/synthesizing information, etc, etc.) and said that some day they’d recognize that my virtues, and make me a manager.
Ouch.
I’m not sure which stings more. =)