PhD applications can truly be a challenge, a test of academic potential, language skills, and mental resilience. At first, my mindset was: “I’ll leave the choice to the professors and let them decide if I’m suited for academia.” But now, I feel differently: “No matter what, I’ll find a way to make this path work.”
Maybe it takes going through this process to truly understand myself and figure out what I really want. The road ahead in research will probably be even more complicated and challenging, but in a way, the PhD application stage already sets the tone. If I make it, I’ll take on the next phase of training. If I don’t, then I’ve still chosen a way to engage with the world. Either way, it’s not a loss. It’s just a different way of living. In the end, depth and joy are mostly about perspective.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the “me right now” versus the “me in the future.” Research topics can change, but I still believe that a person’s core values and concerns don’t. They show through the questions we choose to explore and the methods we use. Choosing a research method is really about choosing a way of seeing the world. And the waiting, waiting for PhD results, waiting for collaborators’ replies, waiting for journal decisions, job offers, this is all just part of the process. It might seem like the biggest challenge is language, but that’s actually one of the easier things to work on. With the right environment, immersion, and practice, it’s just a matter of time. Like now, I’m in Germany, learning German, and slowly getting used to it.
Hopefully, this year brings good news so that I can finally focus on doing some research. My dream school, my dream advisor, when will you give me an answer, haha?
Just keep calm, stay positive!
This week's Yellow Rose. I love the bright colours, which remind me of the sun and hope.
Last modified on 2025-02-01