Important Past Dates
A companion post to these thoughts from November 2024!
The first day of your PhD: it was a long time ago and you’ve come a long way since then.
Your first supervisory meeting: whatever your relationship over the course of your PhD, you’ve grown as a result of your supervisor.
The first new thing that clicked: do you remember the moment when you made a significant connection?
Your biggest setback: what happened and what did you do as a result?
When you finished your first draft of your first chapter: how did it feel to get it done?
The final problem: why was it a problem? How did you solve it?
Looking back over all of these, whether you remember exact dates or not, the important thing is that you have grown. You were good at the start of your PhD and you have become more.
Viva prep involves relatively simple work like reading and making notes. The more difficult work is to reflect on your journey, what happened, what it means and why it makes you exactly right for the challenge you’ll face at your viva.