My last day at QCE

Today was the last day

• I am typing this within the last half an hour of the conference, although some of us may be going to dinner or Seattle again in the evening. I am experiencing a bit of fatigue, but that is because of some amazing Indian food I had for lunch! Since there is going to be a lot of uncertainty in my last year and a half of uni, I sought out some advice on a Slack group I am in with some scholars, and was pointed to a discord group, where I’ve been pretty active. It’s for academics like myself, and it’s really been a great space for me. The people there are awesome. I recently started chatting with a couple PhD students, one of whom lives in the area (born and raised), and just got a tenure-track position. So she agreed to meet me at the conference and we drove to Kirkland!
• I learned that burnout near the end of the PhD is a real thing, and about how to balance that out better.
• Also, how to take care of yourself and self-manage your PhD, so that you don’t rely on just your advisor to make the most of your time during grad school. I’m really thankful for the community outside of my uni, as they’ve really been the backbone of my support (outside of family, long-term friends and suspect vices (just kidding!)).

Here are some photos

Now for a rest!