News: Student life
How to approach your lecturer
For first year students, the thought of talking to your lecturers might seem daunting. Here is this person who has dedicated pretty much their whole lives to their craft – they are highly regarded in their field; they have contributed significant research findings and innovations to the discipline; they could also be practicing professionals.
Sidelines
I am loving all the soccer magic happening all around. It takes me back to my school days, playing as part of the girls’ soccer team. My mother wasn’t thrilled about headers, but she never missed any of my games. My parents were, and still are my greatest cheerleaders. They were always present and always cheering me on, even at home, when self-doubt creeps in and I feel less brave.
Mediocrity
I’ll say it now – I get it. I am afraid of mediocrity too. But why?
What’s in my bag
I feel like there are certain things that I will always carry with me to uni regardless if I will end up using them or not (usually I will, though). So, here’s a breakdown of those things.
Kung Fu Panda quotes for your HDR journey
I don’t know who needs to hear this but, YOU CAN DO IT. I think sometimes, we HDR students are too hard on ourselves – and I know it’s all with good intentions. We all took a little break during the weekend and let a friend’s school-age child pick a movie for the whole bunch of us to watch. We realized that Kung Fu Panda has a lot of relatable quotable quotes. Here were our favourites.
Thinking of doing a Ph.D. as a parent
The first thing I would say is, “Why not?”. It sounds scary, but it is something that’s possible and many individuals have accomplished this feat. Both of my Ph.D. supervisors were parents when they were completing their doctoral degrees. Having said that, I think the reasons for wanting to study again as an HDR student are crucial to success.
On volunteering
We’re nearly right bang in the middle of winter now and boy is it getting chilly! One of the things I love about winter though is that the cold seems to propel me gently into a sort of quiet – nearly a hibernation. (Note: If only it were possible to hibernate when you’re nearing the end of your HDR candidature!) This is my quiet season and I do enjoy it.
On dating
I enjoyed the podcast chat Steph and John had about dating. It was insightful - a glimpse into a world I decided to leave, many years ago. I thought about how different it all seemed to be now, but also how familiar sounding. What sounds to not have changed much at all is the desire to find that seemingly elusive meaningful connection.
Stage fright
I’ve previously written blog posts here on being nervous about conference presentations and public speaking in general. As a postgraduate and mature-aged student, it’s reasonable to expect that I’ve experienced plenty of them, and so when a request for a radio interview came through, I was surprised that I was more terrified than excited about this opportunity - don’t even take into account the huge wave of imposter syndrome feels that came over me!
