It feels so good to feel so good! I am so happy with my research right now that I have forgotten a bit about my art. Finally, I see what my place is, in this whole quagmire of a transdisciplinary team. You probably have no clue of what I am talking about but just take it from me that I am happy. And I want to reward myself by going for a swim. (Ernest has just reminded me that it is his birthday, so maybe I will buy him an ice-cream later so that I can gloat over my work).
Before I leave, I would like to dish out some advice, which is something I rarely do on this blog. It is for anyone who is planning on doing a PhD or anything else that is equally nerve-racking. But let me tell you first how I came to do a PhD.
It was one dark night, (no it wasn't but I just started that way to make it more intriguing). Actually, it is a very boring story of me trying the impossible task of funding my own research, getting nowhere with that two years down the road, searching the internet incessantly for funding and PhD opportunities, finally applying to the transdisciplinary programme at Stellenbosch, and then getting that email that said: you have been selected! I was over the moon! All my efforts finally bore fruit in the form of a full scholarship and a study leave from my university.
Little did I know that leaving home would be a harrowing experience. In short, I lived to tell the tale. I think it would be safe for me to now say the worst is over, it can only get better. That is a lot, coming from me, an avid and fully paid-up member of pessimists international.
Oh, and that advice I promised: 'hang in there'.Labels: Academia, Perseverance, PhD, Research, Success