121 Letter from Christine N. Buzinde
Dear Future Generations of Women Tourism Researchers
The letter I write to you is a mirror image of the one I would write to my younger self, if I could travel back in time. I have learned over the years that our mentors are numerous, if we are present enough to see them, and their words of wisdom are plentiful, if our ears are receptive enough to hear them. As you enjoy this lovely compilation of letters of advice that partially comprises the project generously spearheaded by Sara and Antonia, my humble suggestion is that you take that which resonates with you in this time space reality and return to the rest when you are ready to be receptive to it.
My advice to you comes in the form of a little brown beautifully handcrafted leather pouch, the kind you would find in a non-descript souvenir store located on a far-flung corner of a quaint Western themed town. In it are three brightly colored stones whose resplendent beauty requires no description.
The first stone, earthy-red in color like the rock formations in Sedona, Arizona, is handed to you to remind you to take time to locate your internal true north for it will always ground you. An African proverb says that a tree with deep roots is not easily toppled by random gusts of wind but one with shallow roots will constantly fall and attempt to root itself elsewhere, each time losing time and momentum. Locating your internal true north will ensure that you are not susceptible to the pleas of others who may want you to become the image they have of you. For instance, this can take the form of a senior colleague who wants you to change your research trajectory based on what is fashionable/acceptable in the academy, or college leadership that ask you to change your identity as a scholar to align with the college’s innovative new theme, or even a funding agency that requests that you align with their discordant values in exchange for access to funding. Some may say ‘fake it until you make it’ but my humble advice is that you constantly engage in the practice of locating your internal true north, your authentic self, so as to ensure that you do not lose sight of the version of you that you are proud of, the version of you that inspires you to greatness. The academy is a context wherein we are often explicitly or implicitly forced to unnecessarily and constantly measure ourselves against others and needlessly propelled to compete with others. If one does not take time to constantly locate one’s true north, these processes, given their extrinsic nature, can result in a sense of flailing about, sentiments of loss and/or an existential crisis. Thus, my advice is that you pursue whatever contemplative practices that allow you to internally ground yourself so as to clearly connect to and formulate a path that aligns with your soul journey or your intrinsic motivations. This alignment will lift you up when you fall, it will place you on the right path when you wonder in th