My PhD Journey

Many times in my life, out of despair there will be a rewarding gift. Well, don't I deserve all the good things life can offer? Yessss...definitely!

I started off my PhD journey pretty well, feeling motivated in following my plan of study, consistently meeting my supervisors and trying to maintain enthusiasm. After all, I was at the proposal stage and the eagerness kept pushing me ahead.

In the first semester I took the Educational Research Methodology II paper and Statistics II the following semester. Both were challenging enough to make me ponder upon my on-going study. I was lucky that I didn't have to do the other 3 papers as I could just transfer the credits from my Master Degree. It was a good start as I had the chance to meet friends during & after the class talking about each others' progress.

Time passed by...weeks after weeks, months after months, semesters after semesters. Refine! Refine! Refine! I discovered that the whole process of writing a thesis is the act of refining your thinking and positioning your thoughts. And that's not easy...

Arghhh I missed the EDUPRESS (Education Postgraduate Research Seminar) 2009 due to my ignorance. I actually missed the abstract submission date, but to make it up I registered myself as a participant. EDUPRESS is a platform for postgraduate students in the Faculty of Education to share and to get feedback on their research. It was a stimulating and fruitful seminar for me and it did enlighten me with some insights of my proposal.

Very true indeed that PhD is a 'lonely journey'. You are all by yourself and you're lucky if you have friends who bother to take the hassle of updating you with the current events around the campus! I will definitely make sure that I won't be missing the boat again this year!

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." - Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968)