To PhD or not to Phd……????

Yesterday, my classmates and I took our first exam as PhD students. Preparing for the exam was a wretched experience; one that I hope never to have to repeat again in my entire life. Ever! For three days I wore the same sweat pants and t-shirt. I also didn’t brush my hair for that same duration. It’s not like I couldn’t find the time to change my clothes or pick up a hairbrush. It’s just that I didn’t quite care enough. There were 48 hour chunks of time in which I did not leave my house because I was cramming. So, really……did it matter if my hair resembled that of a Peruvian alpaca? Probably not.

Sometimes I wonder why I am putting myself through this process. I mean, I have a Master’s degree. That qualifies me for a decent job or something. Right? Doesn’t it? I think about my friends who went straight from undergrad to their respective professions and stayed there. 7 yrs later, and most of them have jobs, and houses, and nice cars, and families, and 401k plans, and take advantage of these things called “weekends.” I on the other hand work countless hours for an “income” that allows me to splurge only on things like top ramen and highlighters. You know…….the necessities of graduate student life.

In the end though, I know that this degree is something that I really want and have always really wanted. So, I will chug along, and wear those same sweat pants, and not brush my hair, and have meetings with my advisor, and fret over data, and do all of those things that PhD students do.

In the meantime, comics such as these let me know that at least there are others in my boat

image courtesy of www.phdcomics.com