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What’s ice-skating gotta do with grad school?
I’ve often referred to the metaphor of competitive ice-skating to describe the PhD journey. Michelle Kwan was mentioned in my PhD personal statement. “Michelle Kwan, one of my favorite figure-skating athletes, has always said that “Life is not a triple lutz.” She was a world-class competitor, but even when competing, she knew it was temporary, and not her final destination. Skating to her was about the journey, not the destination, hence her ability to forgo the pursuit of the Olympic gold medal that eluded her. Doctoral studies, like world-class figure…
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Over and Done With
Source: http://www.caughtonset.com/ Jennifer Aniston on the constant rumors about her and Brad Pitt: [S]he wasn’t very interested in talking about the situation. “Oh lord, it’s not even worth discussing on a night like this,” she said. That’s how I feel about my PhD studies, yes, please do not ask me about the end-date. Thank you.
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Mere Mortals
I heard from a friend that a reputable researcher was gravely ill. We came to the same conclusion, “So what is the point of striving?” :) We can say his research will live on and impact the lives of those who follow in his footsteps. Watching a loved one vanish through Alzheimer’s over time taught me how important it is to keep a work-life balance and to see life as a series of cherished experiences. Whatever I spend a lot of time on must be something that matters. As my…
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Just keep writing
I’m beginning to understand what dissertation-writing is about. As students reach this “terminal” stage in academic pursuit, the challenge is for students to identify/find their own problems, or set their own assignment topic (as opposed to instructors giving you a topic; although sometimes, it may not happen that way, :)). Write a gigantic long essay. Once it is approved and graded by a committee of experts, it passes for defense. The student then gets her PhD. As in creative pursuits, the greatest challenge is in problem-finding. Once a student gets…
