I used to believe in magical thinking—the idea that if I just worked with the right person, picked the right hot topic, or followed some “research success formula,” it would all come together.

But it doesn’t work that way.

What actually works?

Grinding. Rejection. Isolation. Picking yourself back up. Again and again.

It’s not glamorous—but it’s real.

I’ve accepted that no one’s coming to the rescue. So I’m trying to build something instead—a small platform called r3ciprocity.com. It helps researchers get feedback, build confidence, and stay motivated in a system that’s honestly stacked against them.

The idea is simple:

• Make research feel a little less lonely.

• Help people keep going.

• Give them tools so they don’t quit too soon.

But I can’t build this alone.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, burned out, overlooked, or like you were doing everything “right” and still falling behind—this is for you.

If you believe academia should do better by its people, please share this.

Let the presidents and deans see that we’re not asking for shortcuts—we’re asking for support.

We don’t need magical thinking.

We need better systems.

And we need each other.

Thanks for reading.

And if you’re still showing up every day—even when it’s hard—you’re already the hero in your story.