ABSTRACT
In this chapter I contemplate my impending retirement, reflecting on my own path into and through the university world. I think back on the factors and the people that shaped me as a child, on the values I brought from my first career as a nurse, and on the way in which my career has unfolded, largely unplanned, in the university. I recall some of the significant changes I have experienced over the years, and how they have affected me and my view of academic life. I discover that reflecting on my career is a valuable way of recognising what it has meant, and I offer a few suggestions to those who are starting out on their own careers in the academic world.
