Content warning: this chapter discusses sensitive topics.

Kyla's research explores the relationship between contemporary identity politics using ethnographic methodology using found poetry to disseminate her findings.

Introduction: A cold wet day in January

The person who tweeted this was a hollowed-out shell, circles that formed under their eyes were as dark as the clouds that had formed in their mind. They had just stood shivering on a cold train station gulping down tears and swallowing the intrusive thought that if they just stepped off the platform, it would all stop. The cacophony that had taken over their thoughts was a collection of screaming voices; ‘you’re too busy for us’, ‘Daddy says all you care about is your PhD’, ‘How many hours of teaching are you doing this semester?’, ‘You haven't filled in this form’, ‘You will be withdrawn’, ‘YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, WHY CAN't YOU COPE? YOU’LL NEVER FINISH’ …

This person was me.

At this point, you are probably thinking about where this is going, or maybe you are shuffling about uncomfortably because this was also your experience, or just maybe it was so far removed from your own experience that the words you just read are as alien as reading an ancient text.