Why I Didn’t Get a PhD…

Figuring out why I didn’t get a PhD, why I’m not a philosophy professor today instead of a copywriter, is an intricate problem. To tell the truth, I don’t even think I can give you a decent approximation of the reason. It’s much like when my dad was alive, if you’d asked him to tell you why he left my mom… But I know when I first started thinking my graduate school career may be coming to an end.

I’d been waiting nearly two weeks to hear back from my department. At this particular school, in...