Monday Musings:: Balancing a PhD & The Asian Destination
The left hand photo, to the untrained eye may look like it merely contains flasks of coloured liquid.
My fellow research students will know, they contain a lot more. They contain our lives.
Okay. Enough of the melodrama but seriously, anyone in the field of biology will understand just how painstaking cell culture can be.
A little bit of background::
As I've mentioned before, I am currently a full-time PhD student working towards preventing babies being born too early. Currently, this means our research involves growing cells (in the flasks above) for up to 6 weeks before carrying out experiments which may or may (frustratingly) not work.
Though some people may call a PhD a 'job', it can go way past the usual 9-5. I have had 12-24 hour experiments requiring me to come in very early mornings, evenings and sometimes weekends.
...And yet, I do not work as hard as the majority of my colleagues.
My research group is full of pure scientists as well as clinicians.
We also have many qualified doctors working towards a PhD. On top of the odd PhD research hours, many of them still have their clinical on-call commitments, either during the day, night or weekends. There are pure scientists working in the lab for 15 hours at a time, always coming in at weekends. On top of that still, some are balancing a family and often young children.
Me?
I'm just exhausted watching them juggling their ever busy lives.
Why am I going into this?
I get asked a lot, 'How do you find the time to manage a blog whilst doing a PhD?'
I'll admit, with PhD commitments and report writing, managing a website can be difficult.
But then I'm reminded of the others in my group, how hard they work, how capable they are in their field.
Of course, they have their off days as well, much like the rest of us.
But seeing them set the standard for dedication and commitment makes me want to embrace my own 'inner superhero'.
I started The Asian Destination as an outlet for my thoughts, my views and experiences of being British Indian Bengali; today it's become my voice as well as a hobby and I find it hard to imagine myself without it.
They say that as we grow up, rather than 'become somebody', we become more of who we really are.
TAD has definitely had that effect on me.
I've mentioned previously how I find it so much easier to express myself with words.
TAD has helped me grow in confidence and become more self-aware.
How can I then throw something that I feel that passionate about away with the excuse:
'I don't have time for it'?
Where there is a will there is a way.
Where there is no will there is an excuse.
Experience has taught me that if there is something you have a burning desire to achieve, you won't allow anything to come in your way.
Anything you've been putting off because you just don't think you have the time?
Want to restart a hobby?
Whatever it is, if you're passionate about it, start it now.
No excuses.
Until the next Monday Musings ::
Love & Blessings,
Ana | The Asian Destination xo
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