I’m back! - A quick update

I can’t believe the last blog post I wrote was over half a year ago! But good news — I’m start writing regularly again, beginning with two or three new blog posts in one go! JUST WATCH.

I’ve now been in my PhD for almost half a year, I think — and if I were to describe it with just one word, that word would be Dramatic. These six months have been full of ups and downs, but overall, I think I’ve been growing steadily, both academically and personally.

In terms of day-to-day PhD life, it’s been much better than my last year in Warrington. I’ve made lots of friends this year (thanks to the large Chinese community here at the University of Southampton!). I remember mentioning in a blog post a while back that one of my biggest wishes was to experience the “lost” uni life again (thanks to COVID), and I really feel like that wish has finally been fulfilled. I’m quite happy here (most of the time). My supervisor is extremely nice and laid-back, and I can go to the office whenever I want, as long as I’ve done some work before each meeting. He’s also just a really kind person — kind of like a father figure. I really admire how calm he stays in tough situations. I guess being a former head of department, he’s seen everything that can possibly go wrong, and he’s learned that everything eventually turns out fine.

I also play badminton (almost) every day! It’s been great getting back into it. The last time I really played was back in primary school, when I was on the school team and played two or three times a week after class. It’s fantastic — I love badminton!!! Not to mention, I’ve made loads of friends through it — from undergrads to PhDs, to a guy from Vietnam who works at META, and people from all sorts of nationalities (some of which I honestly can’t even name the countries!).

Academically, things have been going pretty well. My productivity is okay-ish good, though it could definitely be better. I’ve had some ups and downs. My computer broke a couple of times, and I’ve done a few crazy things with it (don’t ask). But again, I think I’m becoming more calm about everything. I always remember the lyrics from the song Everyday Normal Guy 2 — “Shit happens all the time and you learn to deal with it.”

As for more academic updates, I think I’ll save those for another blog post — maybe the next one!

See you soon — and I promise I’ll write another blog post either today or tomorrow!