My big step

Less than four years ago I quit my job in a prestigious institution , packed my suitcases and migrated to another country.

Gaining the opportunity to travel to this country was such a privilege that I didn't think twice about quitting my job, which by the way, had a few benefits and didn't pay half bad. My father tried to caution me against my decision, but there was just no stopping me. For me, there was really nothing to think about. I was being given an all expenses paid opportunity of a lifetime and I was going to take it.

Looking back now, I still believe that I made the right choice. I've written about 6 academic papers in less than four years, traveled all over Asia, learnt a functional level of Japanese, gained a bucket load of life lessons, maintained a stable, loving relationship for a few years, gained a lot of confidence and self reliance, made friends from all over the globe, among other equally important things.

 In the beginning, I only thought about the degree and the traveling that I would get to do. Then came the homesickness. Bouts of nostalgia knock me down every year but I always bounce back to the present. In addition, a lot of things didn't go according to plan and I found myself struggling like never before to simply face the day sometimes, but it has all been worth it. If I die today, I would go knowing that I truly lived. However, it's not my time to die yet, because after getting a taste of what life really has to offer, I want to see more and I have realized that it's all possible. So I am looking forward to the next journey already, even though this one hasn't really ended yet.

(Photographs are not the property of this blogger.)

Don't end up hating your life at 40 because you pursued the career path you chose as a teenager!

I've been thinking a lot lately about my life and the choices that I've made. I read a quote recently that essentially said don't end up hating your life at 40 because you pursued the career path you chose as a teenager. This got me thinking about change and all the unforeseen things that accompany it. In order to ensure that I don't end up hating my life at 40, I need to actually pursue the things that interest me now. Of course, my career path is still important to me and I will continue pursuing it fervently, but I also have other dreams that do not include academics. To get on with those dreams though, I need to set aside 'dream accomplishment' time. Otherwise, I will just drum away at my academics and wake up one day utterly disappointed in me.

Before making my journey into this land of the unknown, I was excited and a bit apprehensive. Upon getting here, those feelings remained for a long time. Recently however, I've begun to feel a sense of 'me'. I know myself more today than I did 3 years ago. I'm more willing to sacrifice and do what is important to me but I keep wishing I had more time and using lack of time as an excuse to not pursue other things of importance to me. This month I will change that though. Notice, this month ends today, so today is my day of progress!

Two weeks ago I woke up feeling quite unaccomplished. I thought about the fact that my graduate school journey was not going according to plan at all. In fact, I'm about a year behind schedule. How did that happen? I wasn't sleeping for a whole year, I'm certain. But what exactly happened? I procrastinated, researched things that turned out to be inconsistent with my professor's goals for me and ended up with a year of nothing. I learnt that this journey is not entirely about me. In a year, I've learnt how to read my professor more accurately, I've learnt the importance of saving towards conferences, and I've realised that my research in grad school is 30% about my interests and 70% about my professor's :) I guess it's a good thing I learnt those things in one year. Sometimes we take years to learn lessons that are not explicitly taught.

So now it's time to focus on things that will help me to finish my thesis and graduate next year. Lord help me if I know what those things are!