It Takes A Village To Raise A PhD student

I should really be reflecting on field-dependent rationality for one final so I can move on to the second final, but just had to note what makes it possible or impossible to attempt two classes in a semester. Julie can share her reflections as well.

Look at your professional life. Mine changed dramatically this semester and as it was due to a new position I couldn't anticipate in what ways and I didn't know how to control things. Oh it was bad at times.

Look at your personal life. Do you have family and friends willing to support you or will they undermine you? I couldn't have taken on everything I did this fall if my husband and son -- as well as a lot of friends -- didn't pitch in at home. Still bad but once your house has achieved a certain level of disarray it just doesn't matter how much longer you ignore it. Everyone was fed and clean clothes were available and homework (for mother and child) was completed on a mostly timely basis. Of course the big question is whether or not your family can take you becoming a wild, crazy person due to pressure combined with lack of sleep. Can you take being this person?

Look at your academic life. How many thoughts can you hold in your head at once? No, seriously, if you are a multi-tasker then this is easier for you -- even if you are already multi-tasking just to attend school (which all of us in this program are). Some people find multi-tasking at this level extremely difficult so taking two classes is simply not for you. Of course, the advice I received (and didn't take) was to take classes that complement each other. I suppose if I knew more about argumentation at the beginning of the semester I might have had better luck with this but I floundered a long time before coming up with a seminar topic that worked for me and by then I was committed to other projects for research methods. However, throughout most of the semester the two classes seemed to be at different ebbs and peaks so it was easier to balance than it might seem. Of course, completing two take-home finals plus a final project all at once is a challenge.