How Do you Get to Know Everything?

I got an email last night from my (hopefully) soon to be graduate advisor who is AMAZING and a rock star of the medieval history world asking me and the other 4 students taking her Later Medieval History class next semester what we want to read and what suggestions for books and topics we might have. I had three initial and frightening thoughts because I still very much want to impress this woman or at worst, not annoy her and my track record was not so great at my visit with her in March. (I babbled and was starstruck. SO not attractive.)

1. This is a test. One which you will fail because you don't know what big books are really important in the field right now.

2. Can you really only want to read about medieval women all of the time?

3. Sweet lord, this has to be the right program for me because it's a cooperative and helpful atmosphere without so much emphasis on hierarchy like some programs you got into. (Cough, CU, cough.)

I told my woes to the brilliant and fabulous Owen Cramer at lunch today and he had the most comforting response that I would never have thought of myself. he told me not to approach this like I already had my PhD but to be thoughtful and decisive about what you want to learn about but really be there to learn and to make up for your deficiencies. I found that to be very comforting. I am deficient in a lot of medieval history areas but I am eager and ready to learn as much as I can.

But my big question of course, is when do I know everything?