I actually stopped one of my professors in the hall after the first class in my field and told him I needed to drop out because I didn't know enough to be a grad student. It wasn't until my dissertation defense that I realized I was "really" an expert in my field. An examiner asked me a question, and I started answering it with no problem, heard myself, and had to pause while I thought 'Whoa--I know this!". Give it time, Cinzia. It's a process.

Bringing accessibility to others is a worthy goal. I am sorry it is so isolating. You are brave. You are smart. Your kindness shines through.

When I was 16 a group came in from Oxford to speak to my (very poorly performing) school about different university options. They held a quiz where we had to guess university subjects from pictures associated with the topic. None of us could guess classics. We'd never even heard of it.

"I'm not a classicist...but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

I think classics probably has this problem more pronounced than other subjects but when I did an engineering degree I definitely felt this way.

As someone going back to University for a Masters in Cultural Anthropology, after six years away from University, I worry about having imposter syndrome. Especially as my undergraduate degree was in Illustration, so not that academic. So even if I'm not in Classics, as someone who loves your channel, thank you for this relatable video!

“You’re expected to know a bit about every area of Classics” - this is exactly the same in Art History! People expect me to know of every artist from every era. I also feel like a “fake” art historian because my background is in contemporary art, which is looked down on by some academics. I have absolutely NO knowledge of religious art whatsoever (so anything before the 19th century).

As someone who had to take a step back from my PhD, I completely understand how you feel. I didn’t go back to undergrad until I was 26, I’m 36 now. I finally had to accept that the situation with my PhD was untenable. That doesn’t mean it is untenable forever. I’m in engineering and it’s always a struggle. The men had fathers who taught them all these technical skills that I’ve had to learn on the job. I still learn simple things everyday. I often feel so behind and lost. Don’t give up, but don’t be afraid to take a step back. Taking a step back to find a different way isn’t the same as walking away. As far as imposter syndrome goes, my unique life experiences has given me insights and understandings that my colleagues don’t have. I’ve learned that they are just as in awe of me as I am of them. I am learning to accept a different path isn’t a bad thing. I just need to find my niche and focus on myself. The UK system seems very ridged. Have you looked at studying in other countries? These barriers don’t exist in the US and we are very welcoming to international students. I’m American so I can only speak for our system.

I have a similar feeling with the term 'historian'. I know people who only consider a/an historian as a person actually earning their living doing that, usually employed by an academic institution. While at the other end of the spectrum I know people who consider a person doing the most cursory and basic level of historical research in their spare time as a historian. I think that the truth is that what most people consider a historian is someone 1) doing their own research, using primary sources, and 2) creating some kind of output from that research, such as writing books, articles, running a website, channel etc. That might seem like a low bar to some, especially many professional academics. But frankly, in 24 years since I graduated from UCL with a history degree, I think I have known more people with seriously deep understandings of certain aspects of the historical world, outside of the professional academic world, than in it. Some of the best historical researchers I know, are 'amateurs'.

On the privilege of background? I too didn’t go to terribly posh schools. But, growing up in Edinburgh in the 1980’s, I not only had the Zoo and was part of the children’s Saturday club, but I was lucky enough to see the Terracota Army and the treasures of Tutenkhamun when each visited the city. I now live on the Kent Coast, and there’s not many kids with access to that sort of thing.

I'm a teenager and your videos have done a ton for my fascination with ancient history and mythology. My school doesn't have classes on the subjects you talk about and you make the information so much more accessible for me especially :) thank you!

You may not read this but I want you to know that you have definitely made history more accessible. I have used you videos to help teach in my world history class, and many of the students enjoy your videos. Just a suggestion, maybe you could make videos on what your researching to lighten the load of try to balance both

I think you are indeed very cool and very hip :) Your videos are great and you being vulnerable is very brave. I often feel as an older student that I am so far behind...but really age is a number. I feel old and poor often since returning to school.

my partner and I both love you video essays and the care and depth you go into

Too many people in my area think they are nutritionists. Most are not. I'm a nutritionist with a PhD in nutritional biology.

These things seem overwhelming when one is in the middle of a situation, you'll get through this, key word through, you'll come out the other side

You’re better than cool and hip to me; you’re authentic and real, human and warm, not plastic. That means a lot. I find your goals laudable, relatable, and inspiring. Everyone here is rooting for you. Your fellow working class history nerd from across the pond.

You raised a lot of really important points in this video!! I just finished a PhD in Classical Archaeology from within a Classics department in the US and I definitely agree that there is an expectation of both breadth and depth of knowledge from people studying Classics that is not of other disciplines. I always knew I wanted to focus on pottery, but still had to take the languages in undergrad and grad school because it's expected that you do, even as an archaeologist. I haven't read super widely, in the original languages or in translation though, as I was focused more on learning about the material culture, and Athenian pottery more specifically. I feel personally more of an archaeologist who studies the ancient Mediterranean and surrounding regions, rather than a classicist, but I realize that for some people it's a valuable while still fraught identity to have and feel legitimate in. My department has started sponsoring an annual lecture series examining the field and the ways we can alter it to make it more accessible, and we are always talking about how important it is to recognize and value classicists who are not associated with universities. I'm really sorry studying Classics has been and continues to be such a struggle for you, but even if you are unable to complete your degree, you are absolutely a classicist, who is doing very valuable things contributing to the development of our discipline in the content you create. On optimistic days I do think the field is changing for the better, and I hope that the work you are doing to directly contribute to that will be acknowledged and celebrated even more moving forward.

You may be interested in Working Classicists (disclaimer: I've written for them, I'm a mod for their discord) but they're aiming to bring classics to those who have been otherwise excluded from it. I'm also "not a real classicist" but I've got my MA in Classical Studies; I have my BA Hons in Classics... and creative writing and archaeology. I've spoken on panels at a convention about classics. Despite all that, I'm still below the poverty line, I'm still disabled, I'm still excluded. I can't go to the museums I want to see the things that I've written about, and I don't think it helps my main focus is reception studies. Like you said, to paraphrase you, it's a strange place to be with one leg in ancient history but another in modern times. Keep going

Thank you for your openess and your work here on youtube ❤

Can I just say that as an English Literature undergrad, your channel has given me so much confidence in the future of academia. I'm starting to look at graduate schools now and I just love how you've been making academia and the classics accessible and interesting! If it weren't for this channel and Ruby Granger I honestly don't know that I would have the confidence to even apply to graduate schools. Even if you are unable to finish your PhD, you are doing meaningful work towards the accessibility of classics and academia already.

I do bookkeeping and in the past have done accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll; but i dont have a degree in accounting or a public certification - CPA - so i do accounting but am not a "real accountant" because i cant legally prepare or file taxes.

Listening to this just breaks my heart. Your subscribers are all rooting for you -- whichever path you wind up taking along your classics journey.

Cinzia. You might not (probably won't) ever be a part of The Academy, but I bet you are more than classicist enough to write some very interesting books. That would also fit well with your introversion. Best of luck to you regardless. (Unconditional imaginary hug, because we introverts don't usually go in for that sort of thing).

"I'm not a real Classicist, I've just studied it for X years.” I have 2 friends who are covered under that, but when you get them started just reflexively know a terrifying amount that is fascinating and baffles me. I think you're setting the bar too high to be able to allow yourself the label of 'Classicist'

I am currently doing an MA in Philosophy, and I definitely feel like what you said applies to this subject as well.

Hi Cinzia. I am but a blink of an eye older than you (in the classical time period), but I too had financial problems in my early career. Regarding conferences, you can 'work your passage'. There is lots of back stage work eg correspondence, mailing out slides, responding to queries, and just being a liaison point for the organisers. I still had to pay my travel expenses, but the food and conferences were free. You meet people who can talk about your field. Best wishes 😊

Completely agreed that it can be a weirdly elitist field. I've got a working class background, I dropped out of high school, but then I did my undergrad in Classics and I can more or less fluently read Latin and Greek, I've translated Callimachus for fun. I got into a top graduate program which courted me aggressively when I was coming out of undergrad, but then when I requested that the department honour an accessibility accommodation for a reduced course load due to worsening chronic illness it was suggested to me by the graduate coordinator that I simply couldn't hack it, wasn't good enough and if I wasn't dedicated enough I should just leave. So I did. It's a shame, I love the field, I love the interdisciplinary nature of it, but the elitism can be really stifling.

I am from the North West of England, left school at 16, I come from a family of bricklayers. I studied (and achieved a First) in Classics at Durham University in 2016. You just need to love the period and be willing to work very hard - that's it. That's the prerequisite for studying Classics and being a 'real' Classicist.

I love your videos! Please don’t think you aren’t making an impact. I’ve just started my first year of undergrad and your videos have given my so much support and confidence ❤️ I came for the history but I stayed for YOU.

Thank you for a beautiful video, Lady of the Library. May God bless you. 💖

As a Classics student who als often feels inferior to her fellow students (and who specialises in Ancient Greek history without having had the opportunity to take Ancient Greek in high school - unlike most of the other students in this field) this video is food for my soul! Thank you!

You brighten my day and expand my experience with every video. Keep endeavouring!

I was an excellent student, especially in college, grades off the chart, accolades from everywhere etc etc. Then I got to grad school and realized I was only excellent at being mediocre. It was like I time-traveled to the future and was decades behind everyone. Had to take my MA and my tail behind my legs and go home when I was waitlisted for the PhD program. I knew there was no point. And I wound up amounting to exactly nothing in life except in debt. TLDR: don't go to grad school unless you 100% know where you stand in life. 5:46

Brilliant imo. You sharing what you want others to know, is a noble goal. CHEERS to your future endeavors 😁💕

Thank you for all your work And for your sincerity in your video You are a gem ❤

I admire your passion and tenacity to keep bringing history and the classics to a wider audience. It would be a genuine loss if you were unable to continue. Best wishes for your future endeavours Cinzia.

I commiserate with you on not being able to go to conferences and libraries and places for lack of money. That is utter agony and I experience it almost every week. I am a mainly self-taught researcher and writer in an even more difficult field, I am an unqualified scientist! I am now living on a tiny pension and often can't even afford the books I need. I may have to put the purchase off 'until next month'. My flat is bursting with books and equipment in an improvised lab. Have you thought of doing a very small amount of earning work, eg giving one learner a Latin lesson every week? When you are on the breadline, even £10 a week extra makes a lot of difference. I love your videos and hope you will keep at it. Even if you take a break for a while to earn some money to finance your progress, I hope you will continue to post, as you are intrinsically interesting.

I totally recognize the catch up game with the students who had parents who had also studied. It's in the little things. The first few months of the first year I had no clue how or where they got the information on classes, boarding,.. (this was before the university went didital). I had never heard of ad valvas or deans or ... luckily I had more hunger to learn than any sense of shame, so I asked anyone and anything ad nauseum for help. That left me less time to work and study, so even with the gouvernemental scholarship and first pick at parttime jobs, it still wasn't a level playing field at all. Level enough for me though. Got my degree and can now help other people as a psychologist and make sure my daughter knows where to find here classes😅

Really enjoy your videos, looking forward to learn more from you. The recommendations you make and the passion you have make your videos great to watch :)

Fascinating I had no idea. I love that you're sharing and explaining it so well, thank you❤

Lovely and insightful video as always! Thank you Cinzia for your thought-provoking, enriching, and honest content. ❤

I'm not a classicist, studied American literature at uni, but I'd grown up poor and there were so many things I didn't know that my friends found obvious and easy because they'd been exposed to them before, so I know how that feels. Still fighting that impostor syndrome, but I'm getting better

Thanks for this neat video Cinzia!

I had a... unique(?) reason why classics was not accessible to me before college. My local high school is fortunate enough to have Latin teachers, but I had so many problems at that school due to sensory sensitivities from neurodivergence that I could not attend that school. I had to go to a much smaller school, and while students were required to take a language, they only offered Spanish. I never realized there was such an issue with Latin not being offered before college/university, so I'm lucky in that regard. At the same time, just being relatively well off doesn't mean you can take Latin in high school.

Love your videos

Watched the video in full now and I can really relate. I haven't been in school since I got my MA in Museum Studies from Leicester more than a decade ago. Great school by the way! I do NOT work in museums and haven't for about a decade, after leaving after having worked at it for two or three years. I just got burnt out. Did a few things through the years, but now I am really feeling the stress, as I am in a course now in Coursera to learn digital marketing, as I would like to go into digital marketing and Ecomm and leave dreaded customer service. But I am feeling it because I barely took ANY business courses in my 6 years of upper education and so feel like a fish out of water. Thank god for Libby and Hoopla and the many resources on there, as well as the open access libraries online. Don't know what I would do without them.

I'd love you to do more history videos! Share your knowledge!

Hello. I went to a university in San Francisco and they offer Classics as a minor and a major in Latin or Greek. I graduated from there with a minor in Classics.

As a fellow non-classicist, whatever your barriers, you've added some reason to my humble opinions. Ta. Also, as someone that works in a niche field, empathy towards what might seem a bit forlorn... But you're already a success. Keep up the good werk. 🙏

0:18 I definitely think it may be more of a UK perspective, because most unis in the US have Classics departments, they may be combined with other majors, but the classes still exist, even at Junior College level, which is where I took my first Classics class (and where I picked my online handle from, lol), it might be slightly more difficult getting into an ancient Greek or Latin class in the US (unlike in France where it's taught in grade school there, lol, I only know because my French husband told me he's had at least one Latin class in grade school), but Classics classes, at least when I was still studying, were not hard to come by, even if it's just beginner courses.

If I may, I would offer you this suggestion. Use your knowledge to write fiction. Write a classics based novel. It will return greater financial rewards and give you the encouragement to keep going. It did for me!

I recall studying the classics as a part of the required curriculum in middle school and high school. My schools were general public schools here in the States.

I study a completely different field but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Imposter syndrome and so on. Just last week I was on a field trip with biology students and their professor. I’m doing my Bachelor’s in Environmental sciences and I’m debating whether I ”can” or should do Masters in biology because I’ll have only 50-ish ECTs in biology once I graduate. But on the trip I realized that I know a lot and my mind works in a way suitable for natural sciences, the professor complimented my work ethic and I even got to teach him something because the field trip wasn’t about his core expertise. I get imposter syndrome if I din’t know EVERYTHING and if an ecology professor diesn’t know something, he’s just like ”interesting to know!” Gives you perspective 😅

You are incredible 🥰

I hope you can complete what you started . If not, the passion should remain. Hey out there. Would you go fund the Lady of the library to see her complete her studies? Not saying she would accept. All I keep thinking is she needs a warm hug and a trip to Rome. DAMN

Coming from a not so well off childhood, compared to many I know, I've learned that something struggled for means by far more than if it were relatively easily obtained. Strive to persevere Milady, It'll be worth it in the end, and at least 194k of us are greatly appreciative of you effort.

Well, I never studied classics in high school and I have the same feeling when I started taking courses in Ancient history. I will receive a certificate of university for taking up courses in Mediterranean archaeology, history and literature. It’s only 24 credits that I had to complete… when I started I felt an imposter because I was following a course about literature in Ancient Greece and they had almost all studied Ancient Greek, even though the course was totally translated. I am going to try and pursue a Bachelor in Ancient history combining it with my full time job, don’t know how I am going to follow some courses, but I have to eat. To prepare myself for this I am going to follow an intensive course in Latin this summer (online) at a well known school in ancient history who specialises into teaching Latin and Ancient Greek… I am really looking forward to these lesson and I hope that by the end of the course I can read,write and speak a bit of Latin. I have been trying to learn Ancient Greek but for the moment I put it on hold and hoping to follow a course at the same school in spring…

I feel like you're a real classicist. You teach me things every day.

Love the system in my country (Belgium) where working and studying is possible. Considering my background. I got first pick at jobs that I could combine with my schooling and got a higher scholarship because I was supporting myself. Everyone in Belgium can get a scholarship based on their (parents) income. Financially at least anyone can go to university here.

appreciate your work

1) I absolutely think you appeal to a younger audience! I was also just thinking, you are a wonderful inspiration for school students too. 2) I learn so so much from you already, thank you for making the videos you do. 3) I am already automatically trying to think of potential things that could help you (ever the problem solver), but I don’t want to over step. But I have a feeling the hive mind here in the comments might have some suggestions. We believe in you!

I am a history major. Getting i to the PhD programs since the Covid lockdown has become ridiculously competitive here in America.

It’s stupid that you have to pay to be more educated. I remember when my soul was shattered when I couldn’t attend university after school and what I did to feel like I was educated was going to the university library and read the books there, and I felt so bad watching all the other students around me.

Good luck

No problem. I would say you are doing cultural studies. You are looking at how cultures compare across time. Sounds fascinating. I don't think I would get too flustered over this.

As a classical linguist (specifically Hellenistic Greek) I have the upmost respect for those who didn't have the opportunity to study the languages at school - it is just so much harder to get into as an adult and you are probably a genius if you can handle it (which you clearly can). I just wish that translation got a bit more respect in terms of jobs. Ironically I feel classical reception is actually more where the money is these days so if anything you are more of a real classicist than I am . I left the field after undergrad because there is just no money or jobs outside of Oxbridge. I will also say that I specialised in poetry but I lowkey despise classical philosophy even though that is what my partner specialises in. I totally get you about the knowing everything thing. I literally had lecturers expect us be able to recite exact dates on request even in literature classes, so literally noone is good enough . 😢😢. BUT I think classicists are some of the most caring people I have met. Everyone knows the struggle and if you need it the community is here for you/ this is definitely me volunteering as a free Greek tutor if anyone wants it lol .❤😊

History has a similar snobbery. I'm really interested in local and social history, but am effectively barred from entry (except for self-study) due to cost and no history background. Plus there's also an ageist element to it as well, with older generations acting as gatekeepers.

Political Science is similar to classics. It’s such an undefined subject that you’re expected to have a grasp of a variety of subjects including: literature, philosophy, history, economics, anthropology, statistics, and a bit of psychology.

haha this is something I relate to so much!! I also did English Literature and Classics and *always* say "I'm not a real classicist" 🤣 I guess it's nice that there's so many people are in the "not real classicists" club 🤣 probably more than "real classicists" 🤣

I studied classics in my undergraduate…I’m not sure what a “real” classicist is. I taught it at a private school for a year! But I am certainly not one, I don’t speak Latin/Greek. But I do use all sorts of poncy classical framing devices in my work still that no one understands. But it brings me immense joy to write about Cassandra or Philomel. I also put up a Goya poster at Christmas in my office and no one gets it… Anyway, I hear you on the money stuff. I can’t bring myself to finish my dissertation. It feels pointless. I think being a critical theorist is at least as tragic as being a classicist ;) Good luck.

Sometimes I think movies and books gave us this idea that someone knows everything in their field doesn't matter what field it is. So when we start study and realize that this is not possible we start to feel bad, but in my experience, everybody is having the same problem but afraid to say it out loud. Unfortunately, this is sad, because when everybody assumes they dont know everything, we have room for learning, but when everybody pretends they know everything, we see a lot of random weird thing on the internet from people using their diplomas as a shield.

I sympathize! I left my PhD program (getting my Master's en passant) due to expense and a lack of opportunities in the field for someone graduating from a third-tier university (Go Vikings; Portland State University - it's a perfectly fine school, but don't look for it in the rankings of the top 50 schools or even the top 500 - we are ranked between 800 and 1200 depending on who you ask). I would say though that you _are_ a 'real' classicist. You are studying and doing active research in the field. You are also doing public outreach (and maybe teaching too?). What more does it take to be a 'real' classicist? I am a 'real' mathematician, though not a _professional_ mathematician (I don't get paid for the math I do, and the job I have doesn't require but the smallest fraction of mathematical knowledge I have). I hope you find a way through that leaves you content with yourself and your choices!

Wow! It's great to see your subs getting really high now.

Mary Beard and/or Irving Finkel are surely not in the majority in this field. They are the privileged few. They were born to the class which supported the life of the scholar. Being a "low brow" myself I'm reminded of Donna Tart's "Secret History." _For if the modern mind is whimsical and discursive, the classical mind is narrow, unhesitating, relentless. It is not a quality of intelligence that one encounters frequently these days. But though I can digress with the best of them, I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive._

I have felt similar to you with knitting and fiber arts. Many people on the internet that I follow taht are in the diber arts community have degrees in fine arts and they've studied color theories and etc etc. But I didn't have the funds to go to uni for My interests I had to go to uni to study something practical that would fund those interests which has made me feel like I've been set me back. But we all have a different journey and knitting and fiber arts will always be a lifelong learning experience for me and that's how I see it. Nevertheless, I understand the sentiment and can relate on some level, you can give it up in the rat race but dont give it up in your heart 💐

I hope those studying the classics can get sponsors to cover the expenses that are beyond their student budgets.

Yeah here in Ireland one of my friends was in the ONLY classic history vlass on the entire Island and it had like 10 people in it. She did go to a private school tho so that would explain it

Do classicists, historians or even archaeologists ever collaborate on projects or papers? It would be interesting, each discipline would look at a project in a slightly different way and draw valuable conclusions.

If we all donated even $2 for each of Cinzia's videos she would be able to research all day long and create content for us! I challenge everyone who watches!

A lot of the points you raise are mainly the fault of how Anglo-Saxon academia works. In Germany these things are way way better, academia is way more affordable. Unfortunately Anglo-Saxon academia also pressures the German system because Anglo-Saxon universities are ahead in the rankings.

I am a Psychologist doing a PhD in Epidemiology. I knew nothing of this field when I started 3 years ago and now I am published in a proper Epidemiology journal 😂 Definitely an Epidemiologist now 😁 Neither psyc, epi nor statistics (what I actually do) was available in my schools 😂 Classisists should be nicer to each other 🤨

It hurts to hear you speak against yourself from a framework designed to put you at a disadvantage. Every designator of success you mentioned is an extrinsic factor that can't be modified by your (well demonstrated) intelligence, skill, and willingness to work. My visceral response is that whoever's doing this to you needs a course of swift and regular kicks to the 'nads. I work in the applied sciences -- electronics and computer technology -- and my existence is bounded by two realities: I will always be a rank beginner at something, and there is always someone who knows more than me. My core skill is to chase the next state of baffled frustration, and my progress is measured by how hard I have to work to reach that state. My business is selling shortcuts to people who are baffled and frustrated by problems I've already worked through. Of course I have the advantage of being constrained by objective reality, which provides an inescapable standard of "this works" and "that doesn't" quite immune to status or influence. It sounds like you're in an environment where people use prestige and reputation to carve out fiefdoms and limit the exchange of ideas to those they consider 'worthy'. If so you have my sympathy, lightly tempered by knowing you aren't too deeply enmeshed in a system that can fall prey to intellectual inbreeding. It's small reward for the person with a 15 year head start to spend the next 30 years walking in circles drawn by people 40 years ahead of you both. Speaking for myself, I admire your skill at communicating clear thought. Your dissection of the essay and what each part needs to do is the most useful I've ever seen. Your reframing of "Was Alexander gay?" as (approximately) "the contemporary mindset was more like top=good/bottom=bad" probably contains more reference to evidence than all other discussion of the subject combined. I found the idea itself thought-provoking,and the presentation engaging from start to finish. Being male and thus genetically predisposed to try solving anything that looks like a problem, I offer the following suggestion as 99.5% speculation with trace amounts of insight gleaned from what you've chosen to publish: You might find it useful to assemble a clique. There have to be latin/greek/aramaic/cuneiform/etc experts who aren't jerks, and if you can't entice them into discussion of an issue I'd say the fault lies with them rather than you. Among my kind the greatest experts in any subject tend to be almost pathetically eager to talk to anyone who asks a question. They'll carve out time to have an intelligent conversation about their subject even if they have to carry you half the way. The same applies curators, document specialists, historians of architecture and technology, and so on. The time and energy they spend acquiring depth of knowledge comes at the cost of reduced breadth. Your ability to meet them within their realm of expertise and synthesize knowledge from a range of different fields can complement their ability to dive deeper than most into a specific subject. May I also suggest Overly Sarcastic Productions as, at minimum, neighbors in the same KZfaq intellectual space. They have an enviable subscriber count and you may find something you can use. But most of all please be good to yourself. If we go all Korzybski and treat 'Classicist' as a matter of degree instead of a binary value, you're far more of one than I am. And from my limited capacity for discernment of that matter, you strike me as an excellent one.

I appreciate the videos make. I hope you become financially successful. Just a suggestion. Why not sell merch as a side income? Some essays as well

My kitteh says Hi 🥰

I don't know if this will help anyone at all, but I did go to a very posh school, and I did learn Latin. And I was awful at it and dropped it as soon as I could. But I still find ancient history fascinating. I jokingly refer to my dad as a classicist because he studied ancient history and philosophy at Oxford. But he doesn't think of himself that way. He learned Latin at school (even more posh than mine) but almost no Ancient Greek and most of what he did at University was done in translation. The point is I beg of anyone reading this not to feel inferior because they didn't study Latin at school; almost nobody does these days (I'm the only person I know who did). Okay, maybe such people have an edge on the language but any classical history is probably much better picked up from podcasts or youtube videos like this one. Besides, the British version of the classical world has been studied more than enough by posh schoolboys; it needs people from all backgrounds and all walks of life who care about it and want to understand it. That's what makes you a 'proper' classicist.

You are an amazing lady but I do have an observation for you. You are like a runner who expends so much energy in vertical movement and not in horizontal progression. You get so bogged down in your academic failings, well your perceived ones anyway. Why not concentrate on what you are best at and leave all the other stuff behind? You are far cleverer than I and I probably have no right to say this but it seems to me that you have lots of momentum but no clear direction. Deciding on one direction involves a certain amount of risk. I think you should take that risk and just go for it. If you mess up, you'd be like the rest of us! You need to decide what would really make you happy and would take all those frustrations away. I think you are a wonderful human being and I think in 10 years time you will look back at this video and agree with me. I hope you find a way forward that has a clear-cut destination.My best wishes to you. Wish I had half your brain power!

May your endeavors be fruitful!

All you need to be a "Classicist" is a Library Card.

I approve of what you ate doing

cute outfit Cinzia

Could you possibly make videos on the topics you are researching and working on for school? That way perhaps you will not get behind because you are focusing on the same material?

This is so real. I studied classics in undergrad and I feel like a fraud if i reference classics and stuff

Have you looked into crowdfunding?

Lovely video (again). I hope you gain your PhD and earn lots of money from these videos. Your honest comments and thoughts are so refreshing and you deserve much success.

To think reading/writing Greek was a pre-requisite to even apply to college here in the US up to and including the Boomers. Hence, all the "Greek Fraternities". Now we have "Graduate Students" who can't read any language.......I'm not kidding.

😔

In America we are forced to read classic novels. But it’s the generic classic novels the popular ones.

Seems to be a very all or nothing subject. Engineering for example has levels. A graduate can call themselves an engineer. Someone with a BTec can call themselves an engineering technician.

Just to say it: You are, if anyone is, a real classicist. Reception is a real subfield, with several subsets of its own. I am a real classicist, too.