PERSEVERANCE

So they say life is full of up’s and down’s and the same rule applies to a PhD student. To be honest, I’ve had 2 full weeks of DOWN’s (the capital letters are meant to emphasize how down I was). LoL

I was struggling with a lot of things at the same time (and I wonder WHY they all must happen at the same time). I suspected that they (the issues) sort of ganged-up and decided to sabotage me. How cruel? I tried to get myself out of the ‘down zone’ but to no avail. I failed. Retail-therapy didn’t do it, excessive eating didn’t succeed, long-chat over coffee failed too. I felt so ‘blerghhhh’. What is going to happen to me? Trust me, I was beginning to feel that I’m not going to make it. 

From that experience I realized that I am probably going through a phase in my studies. I believe it is a normal occurrence especially when stress creeps is, work is not progressing as you expect and so on. It can be pretty depressing. However, a really good friend shared a blog entry with excerpts from Obama’s speech in The Ohio State University graduation ceremony. I read the piece over and over again and watched the clip and I felt an instant ‘kick’ to my spirit. How amazing is that? 

So, I am sharing the very inspiring part of the speech with all of you hoping that it might help if anyone is in the ‘down zone’ today.

“I ask that you persevere. Whether you start a business, or run for office, or devote yourself to alleviating poverty or hunger, please remember that nothing worth doing happens overnight. A British inventor named Dyson went through more than 5,000 prototypes before getting that first really fancy vacuum cleaner just right. We remember Michael Jordan’s six championships; we don’t remember his nearly 15,000 missed shots. As for me, I lost my first race for Congress, and look at me now — I’m an honorary graduate of The Ohio State University. 

The point is, if you are living your life to the fullest, you will fail, you will stumble, you will screw up, you will fall down. But it will make you stronger, and you’ll get it right the next time, or the time after that, or the time after that. And that is not only true for your personal pursuits, but it’s also true for the broader causes that you believe in as well.

So you can’t give up your passion if things don’t work right away. You can’t lose heart, or grow cynical if there are twists and turns on your journey. The cynics may be the loudest voices — but I promise you, they will accomplish the least. It’s those folks who stay at it, those who do the long, hard, committed work of change that gradually push this country in the right direction, and make the most lasting difference”

Barack Obama, 2013

Thank you for reading

Miss F