As we make our way through January and well into term two, first year PhD student and blogger Rupika reflects on her journey so far.
By Rupika Gulati
Categories
First Term Done
Category: Your Experiences
Personal stories and guidance from our writers.
Are you a PhD student at Warwick? Would you like the opportunity to share your experiences of research with a global audience and earn some extra money? Here at PhDLife we’re currently recruiting for new regular bloggers. Hear from editor Ellie King about what it’s all about and why you should apply.
As we settle into the holiday season and campus gets quieter after a busy term one, here at the Warwick Library Blogs we’re looking back on the last twelve months. It started in a lockdown and sadly has ended with some restrictions being introduced, but in between we had some great months of learning and growing. Regardless of where you are in your university life, from a first-year undergraduate to a final year PhD researcher, I think this year we’ve been brought together in the challenges we have faced. We asked some of our bloggers to reflect on 2021, and here’s what they had to say.
Studying a PhD offers many fantastic opportunities for research and networking. But it’s a long journey and life beyond research can require one to take a break from study, whether for work or health reasons. In this blog post, Giles Penman talks about his recent experience of temporary withdrawal.
Categories
The Age Conundrum
By Rupika Gulati
Anonymous
Last week I felt something that I’ve felt building for some time: a sense that I was incapable of completing my PhD. It was that nauseating feeling that there was something wrong with me. Overthinker or obsessive? Perfectionist or slow? Surely, the grass is greener somewhere else.
As research students, our work in libraries and laboratories is intellectually difficult whatever your subject. Having a medical condition or disability can make completing researching even more challenging. However, support and guidance are readily available at Warwick. Giles Penman explains how the University has helped him survive and thrive as a PhD student with medical conditions and where you can find similar support services.
The COVID pandemic has been very challenging for everyone in many ways. As doctoral students whose work keeps us relatively isolated in libraries and labs anyway, we have faced extra isolation and problems of access to research materials. But, as the UK moves out of lockdown restrictions, in a series of blog posts, Giles Penman looks reflects on his time as a PhD student during the pandemic. In the final part, he describes how he found love amid the UK lockdowns.
Reading is often a lone-person hobby. Research often involves reading itself, so the last thing you want to do in your spare time is read even more. But it’s also not exactly the best way to make friends. Except when coupled with clubs. Manpreet Kaur shares her experiences of attending various reading clubs and poetry discussion sessions over the past year and how she found it.
The COVID pandemic has been very challenging for everyone in many ways. As doctoral students whose work keeps us relatively isolated in libraries and labs anyway, we have faced extra isolation and problems of access to research materials because of COVID restrictions. But, as the UK moves out of lockdown restrictions, in a series of blog posts, Giles Penman reflects on his time as a PhD student during the pandemic. In this part, he describes how he preserved his physical wellbeing during the first lockdown.
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