Last week we summed up 2017, but what’s in store for 2018? Read this week’s post to find out…
First of all: Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful celebration ringing in 2018!
Here at PhD Life we have a simple New Year’s resolution: to continue to support our online community by sharing reflections, advice and thoughts about the PhD experience.
One way in which we are going to do so is through a core-team of Warwick PhD students who will share their insights with you. Their stories will become part of PhD Life in the near-future (although some have already blogged for us). So, the first post of 2018 is a perfect opportunity to introduce you to our new bloggers:
Alice Eden: I completed my doctorate in January 2017. Having secured a book contract, I am now transforming my thesis into a book. The mixture of challenges and joys that I have faced as a PhD student, a mature student, a mother and an Early Career Fellow have inspired me to contribute to this blog. I am excited to engage with others in the online community around these subjects, writing about my particular experiences of PhD life and negotiating life beyond.
Aya Nassar: I think I have come to realise half-way through my PhD, that writing helps me, and I assume others as well, to come to terms with this very unique and emotional experience. It helps interrogate how we change, evolve and are challenged by our experience as ‘academics’ and ‘researchers’. I know that there is a lot of spilled ink on what is the best way to do it. I believe that I also need to write about how these labours transform our everyday being, perhaps also find ways to break all the “how-to” manuals and work towards an honest enjoyment of the journey. Key, I think, is to give some thought and time to our everyday practices; reading and writing of course, but also teaching, cooking, budgeting, walking to and from university, and falling in and out of love with your books, your stationery, and your favourite library spot.
C
hengcheng Kang: I want to share with you my journey of doing a PhD. This includes what I have done well, but also what I have done not so well. It is totally okay to not be perfect. Simply relax and redirect your goals. The areas I will cover include: encouraging you to participate in more events instead of doing research all day, to learn about your failures so that you stop being scared, and to consider the potentials of entrepreneurship. In the end, my writing ends up being not just for the blog, but also for myself. It allows me to reflect on my own life which ends up being beneficial for my colleagues and our readers. It’s a shared journey into becoming extraordinary at what we do.
Jenny Mak: As a PhD Life Blogger, I am most looking forward to sharing what I have learnt throughout the four years of my PhD. Undertaking a PhD is a challenging and fulfilling experience, and I am excited for the opportunity to offer my perspective, tips, and insights through a mode of communication that is more informal than academic writing. Some areas that I would like to explore for the PhD Life Blog through different angles are personal growth, wellbeing, and being an international PhD student. Through my posts, I hope to reach out to readers who might feel isolated during the process of doing their PhD, either to start a conversation or to be a kindred spirit.
Sophie Shorland: I’m particularly interested in the challenges of PhD Life; are these different for every person, or are we all going through similar journeys? And how do we address these as a community? I’m really looking forward to unpicking some of these common/uncommon issues as a writer for the PhD Life Blog.
Of course, we will continue to accept guest posts so if you have a story to share please send an email to libraryblogs@warwick.ac.uk.
Until next time!
Sofia (@mextexausuk)
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