One of the things I like about being a PhD student is that no day is ever the same, and no year is ever the same. Sometimes when I tell people that it’s going to take more than 6 years to get my PhD, they groan with wide-eyes and pained look on their face, “That’s so much school!”
It’s true that 6-7 years IS a long time. However, it doesn’t feel like a long time to me because each year progresses and builds on to the next, so that I’m doing different stuff all the time. It never gets boring or stale. Actually I’d probably stay in school my whole life avoiding the “real world” if given the choice--I don’t think I’m alone in that either...
During my first year of the PhD I took classes (3 graduate seminars each semester). During my second year I took more classes and wrote my Master’s thesis. During my third year, I took more classes, lived in China learning Uyghur, and worked on turning my MA thesis into publishable articles. Now I’m in my fourth year and after finishing up 5 months of preliminary fieldwork in China, I’m preparing for my comprehensive qualifying exams (aka comps), a midway threshold for PhD candidacy. So although I can hardly claim that the following is a “typical” day in the life of me, not to mention most PhD students, still the most common question I get from acquaintances to close friends is, “What do you do all day??” In an attempt to satisfy their curiosities, I bring to you a typical day in the life of me as a PhD student during winter 2016, the USA version. This is what it looks like to be at my home institution studying for comps.
I wake up at 6:30 am to the sound of my iPhone alarm playing a tune called “sparkles” and turn on the NPR hourly news podcast. I listen to the horrifying news of mass shooting, terrorism, flooding, and war, and don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or vomit. This usually wakes me up.
I gather my backpack, workout gear, helmet, and lunch before I head out the door. I listen to music as I pedal along Boulder Creek, a winding and sloping bike path through a wooded area. I love the sound of the creek and wind in my ears, with the sunshine on my cheeks and the blue fluffy clouds I can see over the Flatiron mountains in the distance. I make it to my office in about 10 minutes, in just enough time to be out of breath and sweaty.
[side note:
My adviser is associated with a research institute on campus that is separate from the geography department. I’m lucky that I’m given a cubicle at the research institute where my adviser works. It’s called the “Institute of Behavioral Sciences” and it was built specifically to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. It houses anthropologists, sociologists, demographers, geographers, psychologists and others. Since my adviser works on behavior related to climate change and ethnic conflict, he’s a perfect match for the wide variety of research and collaborations there.
It’s a pretty fancy building with an espresso machine, and the free coffee it provides is one of the best things about working there. But I also get my own little cubicle which is a huge perk for just being a lowly graduate student. My L-shaped desk also has a bookcase where I store most of my books and files. I have a desktop iMac, and a map and pictures of Xinjiang pinned up all around me, as well as letters and cards I’ve gotten from friends. If you come find me at any point of the year, it will probably look like a homeless person is living there, as I usually have a pile of dishes, food and snacks on my right side, a set of jiujitsu and workout gear, boxing gloves and climbing shoes hanging up, and stacks of library books, notebooks, and cards on my left. Here's a picture.]
I get to work by 7:30 am. I’m at my best in the morning, so I usually do my writing for the first few hours in the morning. This usually involves either writing or revising articles for publication (I have 4 articles in the works right now), or writing grant applications for dissertation fieldwork in China next year.
At 11:30 am, I usually take a break to workout. I’ll go to my jiujitsu gym and either drill jiujitsu moves if I can find a partner, or do Crossfit or kickboxing. After working out, showering, and eating lunch, I head back to the office. By the time I get back, it’s 2 pm. From 2-6 pm, I read and summarize books and articles for my comps.
I’m studying 3 main focus areas right now: political geography, China geography, and urban geography. The books and articles I read are usually related to my research and these three subjects in some way. Some are theoretical works, some are empirical studies, some are about the history of the field, some are about Chinese politics, some are about urban theory, some are about nationalism. I read them and summarize them in a big master doc I have.
Come comps exam time, I won’t be able to have access to any notes, articles or books. So for now I need to condense everything I can into a workable doc, and then study my notes two weeks before the exam, hoping that I’ll be able to remember enough to prove to my committee that I’m worthy of passing. I also write each work and its summary on a notecard, and at the end of every section, I try to draw connections between debates and conversations that are happening between the scholars and the works.
After quickly checking and responding to email, it’s time for my evening jiujitsu class, which takes up a couple hours in the evening, after which I shower, do laundry, listen to podcasts, eat dinner, and pass out.
I usually work Monday-Saturday and take Sundays off. Though this is a typical day, it varies of course. Sometimes I do Crossfit in the morning and don’t do kickboxing at noon. Sometimes I go to the gym early and drill before the evening class. Sometimes I have administrative tasks to do, like getting my student ID replaced because I seem to have left it in China somewhere. Sometimes I have meetings with my professors or mentors. Sometimes I go to the library to check out books. Sometimes I watch Uyghur soap operas or study Chinese grammar. Sometimes I post on my blog. Sometimes I go to the gym on campus and lift weights. Sometimes I skip jiujitsu and meet a friend for dinner, or spend the evening working in my office instead.
Besides jiujitsu, which is my main hobby, on those rare occasions when I find myself with free time (no, scratch that…on days when I make myself take a break because otherwise I might go insane…), I also may or may not have also been occasionally spotted hiking the beautiful trails of Colorado, contra dancing, biking along Boulder Creek, climbing at the Spot, skiing at Eldora, dancing on Pearl Street, getting a beer with a friend at a microbrewery, savoring some Indian food on Broadway Ave, sipping coffee at the Laughing Goat, taking myself out to the movies, and laying in bed eating Chinese take-out and binge-watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix or stand-up comedy on YouTube. One of my favorite things to do is talk on the phone with my parents or long-distance besties, the people who form the core of my support network. I love you guys. I don’t know what I’d do without you.
I’m not gonna lie, living in Boulder, CO is pretty awesome. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to live here.
How do I pay for all this? I have a fellowship. Thanks, Barak.
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