Research

I thought I would be quite bored this semester as I am not teaching. Without teaching, all I would  have to keep me occupied would be my PhD. I had struggled with boredom during the many months I spent in India last year, so I was prepared for time to hang heavy again. Nothing of that sort happened. I am neck-deep in my PhD and loving it. I love the freedom to go anywhere that your mind takes you. There are deadlines and milestones but they are not very punishing. I am not jaded by academia yet. I have medium-term tasks to do, but every day comes with the prospect of new discoveries and new directions. Although my PhD is in economics, I am reading in economic geography, philosophy, psychology, political economy and even a bit of anthropology. All this might sound like a very haphazard way of working but I have faith that there is a method to the madness. I know there are numerous tropes about how difficult and despair-inducing a PhD is. Most of them are coded in humour but the subtle message is if you are not having a dreadful time in your PhD you are not doing a worthwhile PhD. I have decided to take these tropes with a pinch of salt. I am sure there will be challenging times but I am really enjoying myself at the moment. I feel like I am finally doing what I am meant to do.