After 5 years of shedding tears and sweat all over my desk, it's over. My PhD is over! There were good days and there were bad days, just like everything else in life. And over the years, I have shared with you some of the good and some of the bad stuff. Today, however, I'd like to share my experience defending my PhD.
My PhD defense took place in September, and it was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I don't know what that implies about my sad life. Anyway, the presentation was something else!
I've done numerous presentations in my life, some of which were okay, while others were meh. In some cases, I froze and my mind went blank and I couldn't think of any words to say. So, you can imagine the terror when my PhD presentation was getting closer—a 40-minute long presentation, in front of professors, colleagues, fellow academics, friends and family. I was petrified.
After several rehearsals that went down mediocre at best, and changing my slides the night before my presentation, I went to uni shaking, sure that I was going to fail.
The presentation, however, was nothing like I imagined it to be. I have no idea what happened inside my brain and something just clicked. I came to remember everything I wanted to say, read the faces in the audience, notice when something needed further explanation, and then explain it. I was so alert during the whole time, explaining further when necessary, and omitting things when I thought they were redundant. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe it would go so well.
Despite the fear, the anxiety and the doubt, I walked in front of a room full of people, nonchalantly passed my defense, and became a doctor. I can perform surgery now—no, I'm kidding, I'm not that type of doctor.
The thing is, I guess I don't give myself enough credit sometimes. And my PhD presentation serves as a reminder that I should appreciate myself more.
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