Wrecking balls: a Scorpio New Moon reflection

A few years ago when I was a casual academic, I wrote on the margins of an A+ essay, “I know it was a struggle to write this. I’m here to support you on this journey and it’s going to be okay.”

In Australian higher ed, A’s and fails are subject to second-marking, a process where everyone teaching the subject reviews the highest and lowest marks to guarantee everyone is on the same page as far as grading standards go.

A then-senior lecturer agreed with my marks but cautioned me, “Don’t say this next time. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” This is a person who has talked people off the ledge in the past.

An old song goes,

“Promises mean everything when you’re so little

And the world is so big

Please don’t tell me everything is wonderful now.”

I can’t, and won’t, promise you your situation will get better.

I can only tell you that this 2021 Scorpio New Moon will be in a new place at roughly half past midnight AEDT.