Hello! I am L, a recent PhD grad who’s FINALLY moved in with their partner of 10+ years with 95% of that time spent as long distance so we could pursue our education.
People ask us all the time,
How do you do it? Living apart, in different time zones?
Or, the new one,
How are you two doing from never seeing each other to always being together?
As if there is a one fix for it all.
Wait..
there is! Communication & Trust.
We aren’t perfect, we have our disagreements but we always openly talk it out
That’s the only way it has worked.
I like making things – crocheting, drawings, sewing, knitting, I’ve even dabbled in woodworking – it is always rewarding to see the end result.
I like the outdoors. Sometimes. I am not a very outdoorsy person, compared to many of my friends. My first time camping was during my 24th year of life. Staying inside or at least in the shade is where you’d find me but over the years I have slowly learned to love the outdoors – hiking, kayaking, or taking a stroll through the streets. Listening to the sound of the leaves moving, birds chirping, cicada’s buzzing, it is all very calming and makes you forget about the hustle and bustle of American life.
I absolutely LOVE food. I love eating it, trying it, and making it. In that order. I have always been the person to finish their plate and finish the persons’ next to me. I love to eat food, especially if rice is involved. Next, trying food – I was once the pickiest eater alive, only ever eating chicken and rice. But I’ve slowly turned into the adventurous eater in my family (granted they all think I am still the picky eater) and I love to try new flavors. Finally, making food – this is semi new to me. I’ve always made food but I never m.a.d.e. food. I wasn’t adventurous to try making new foods but rather making the same things I learned a long time ago. Also living on your own doesn’t bode well for making new things – you don’t get to enjoy the experience with anyone! But since moving in with my partner I have found the joy in trying new things! Cooking really is about making food for others that makes it enjoyable. My newest kick is Carla Hall’s Soul Food Cookbook and her Creamed Kale and Habanero Chicken!! #Sogood Even after all this about food, my absolute favorite go-to food is white jasmine rice and fried chicken. I can eat this every day and be happy.
I aspire to be a science education & outreach program manager. By my 3rd year in grad school I was at a crossroads with how to use my degree and how to tell my advisor this. I have found I want to stay in academia but as a support system for professors, researchers, and students without directly being one of them. I 100% LOVE organizing, managing, and coordinating everything in my department from coordinating events, managing an internship to help inspire students, mentoring student researchers, creating a new program to support students, and creating new/revamping outreach material to be more relevant. Now to find a job that encompasses all this!
Since starting grad school I put the majority of my creative brain to the side, to focus on school, with the thought that this would make me a better researcher. There were many ups and downs but the last half of my graduate career turned for the worst, in regards to my mental health that I haven’t fully recovered from. Recovered is not the right word, it should be that I haven’t fully learned to understand what I am feeling, why I have certain thoughts, and how to handle those thoughts and feelings in a constructive manner. In the end, I have found that pushing away my outside-of-academia loves made it harder for me to love my work as I was not happy. This is the part I intend to change – I am slowly finding my loves again, outside of science and work. Writing seems to be one of them.
I’ve started this blog as an expressive outlet to the thoughts running through my mind – the good, the bad, the reoccurring – that never seem to leave me. It will probably range from what I am feeling, thoughts on my past, my graduate career (hey! It was over half a decade of my life!), to foods that I love, items I’ve crocheted, a song that speaks to me, or a poem I wrote. All things I want to share in the attempt to learn and explore myself, my mind – to get to know me again. I hope you like the ride!
More than me inside my head
the good, the bad, the recurring that I dread.
These thoughts that intertwine and feed off each other,
as it takes me away – –
A mind that tends to wander.
Leave me a comment if you get to the end of this long intro. How did you get here? Why are you here? Do you relate or understand what I’m talking about? Or just comment to say hi 🙂