This is going to be a big year. If things go according to plan, I will finish my PhD and start a career in academia. I wish to stay on in the UK, and preferably at my current university, but wishes are not horses. The world is changing so fast that 'the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry'. Living with constant uncertainty is something my generation has had to get used to. Insecure jobs, precarious housing arrangements are a part of our lives, not to mention the political upheavals we are having to live through.
How does one avoid feeling unmoored and anxious in this fast-changing world? Maybe constancy has to be cultivated, not hoped for. Obviously, one's sphere of influence in this matter is quite limited. So one has to find those people and activities that make one feel more secure and at peace with the world. For me, that is yoga and writing. I try to do both religiously and they have brought a lot of peace to me. Apart from family and close friends, they are my constants in this world.
I am also trying to channel my anger and frustration with the state of the world into my PhD. There will be a lot of distractions over the next six months. The flames of fascism are likely to rise higher. But, I am trying to tell myself that the best thing I can do to help the resistance is to finish my PhD as fast as possible and join academia as a critical scholar and teacher. I am not an activist by personality and the self-preservation gene in me is too strong that I won't stick my neck out too much. I have made peace with both truths.
How does one avoid feeling unmoored and anxious in this fast-changing world? Maybe constancy has to be cultivated, not hoped for. Obviously, one's sphere of influence in this matter is quite limited. So one has to find those people and activities that make one feel more secure and at peace with the world. For me, that is yoga and writing. I try to do both religiously and they have brought a lot of peace to me. Apart from family and close friends, they are my constants in this world.
I am also trying to channel my anger and frustration with the state of the world into my PhD. There will be a lot of distractions over the next six months. The flames of fascism are likely to rise higher. But, I am trying to tell myself that the best thing I can do to help the resistance is to finish my PhD as fast as possible and join academia as a critical scholar and teacher. I am not an activist by personality and the self-preservation gene in me is too strong that I won't stick my neck out too much. I have made peace with both truths.
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