4th year PhD

August-1- I officially entered the fourth year of my PhD. I still feel like the kid that joined the program without knowing anything. I also feel like a fourth year now. It only takes me a week to generate the same amount of data that used to take me months. Perhaps, I’ve got the hang of it. Experiments, atleast. I have now become a fast and efficient data-generating machine. That’s exactly what I feel like- a data generating machine. And I have to submit my manuscripts to journals within the next 3 months. So that they are published in about a year and I can graduate on time. I can’t believe I’m thinking about graduating already. I don’t know if my focus should be on graduating on time or graduating with a good PhD even if that means staying overtime. I did learn a few things in my PhD I guess. Not so much as epithelial mechanics as dealing with people, writing, presentation skills, time management, distance running, science writing ,being a freelancer, choosing a career and falling in love with my partner .

I used to think that writing was a remote job and wouldn't be bothered by people. I realised that’s not true- even writers have to deal with clients and editors. Recently, I’ve started liking doing experiments again. Possibly because I’ve got the hang of them and they’re bloody working these days.

Anyway, this is the final lap. Last couple of years on campus. To learn. To earn. To run. To do good research. To write. To speak. To bond. To connect. To network. To travel. To present. And most importantly, to enjoy. I must do it all and do it well. This is why I’ve decided to focus on my work and decided to move back into the hostel. I gotta start running harder now, and only increase the pace till I finish. I want to finish experiments before we shift to the new lab! So, during that disturbance, I can sit and analyse data or work on my manuscript.