Phd Life - Tumblr Posts
First (real) week of PhD
So, I'm halfway through the first week of my PhD program at the University of Kentucky. The first week that's not orientation or getting syllabi passed out. I have found it to be a highly rewarding week thus far. I'm taking a course on Spanish National cinema and a contemporary Latin American literature course, along with "Being a PhD student 101: Hispanic Studies". After a year of being absent from the research environment, I feel a bit inadequate. I forgot my first homework assignment, I was so excited about getting ahead on reading. It's really silly. Also, theory has never been my cup of tea. I mean, I can handle Barthes and, to a certain extent, Said. But Foucault, Lefebvre, and Friedman? I just don't know. Also, I may have different definitions of certain things in my head than others have. I haven't really been able to give good answers as of yet. At least not up to my standards. I hope to improve. I mean, what overachieving student doesn't want to give the right answers and hope that his professors like him? However, I have made excellent friends. My crazy extensive virtual and physical libraries have made me popular with the other newbies. Also, my office mates are very kind to me. Kentucky is a long way from home, so I need that kind of positive vibe in my life. I hope to keep this updated with new learning experiences and anything interesting I find.
One year down...
Made it through the first year of my PhD program! I feel so accomplished: I have a 4.0 GPA, I was ranked as one of the best instructors by my supervisors, I was elected president of the Graduate Student Association for my department, I have a paper pending publication, I submitted a paper to a conference (also pending), and I have been trusted with the department’s fast track course this summer. I also think that I am really close to a dissertation topic...
dec 9th, 2023
this is basically a brief recap of how i spent my first (official) month as a phd candidate. too many walks at the beach, too many hours spent researching for my first paper and... my first proposal for a seminar! i'm kinda nervous because public speaking isn't sth i'm yet used to but we'll get there. as frightening as presenting a small piece of what my thesis will tackle is (what if i'm completely wrong and my research is meaningless? what if everything i've written is nonsense?), i really wanna enjoy this opportunity as much as possible.
(this is the silly little attempt of a 23-year-old phd candidate to document her scary? exciting? journey while crafting a thesis in bosnian-american literature. we'll see how long this blog lasts for)