It is quite hard to put all my emotions into words right now. It feels like sort of happy, worried, excited, anxious, and other feelings as well - all mixed up at the same time. Compared to the time when I first registered for my master's program, this time it is totally different. Perhaps after enduring for about 2 years and a half, through ups and downs of my master's life, it sort of giving me a whole different perspective on to what extent the postgraduate life could bring you.
To certain people, it might be interesting to hear someone pursuing a postgraduate study especially doing Ph.D. But the truth is, it is actually a start of something very challenging - physically, mentally and emotionally. You need to be prepared to bear with all the responsibilities, sacrifices and expectations, both from the academia world and even from your own family members.
Speaking of sacrifices, try to imagine, you need to stay at the library during the weekend while at the same time your friend posted their selfies at the cinema entrance. You need to work on your experiments at the lab or at the green house during school holidays while your friends updated their status of touching down Heathrow airports for a vacation. You need to write your thesis alone with your cat sitting on top of your laptop while your friends posted a video of them having a great time with their playful kids. These are some small sacrifices that we choose to bear upon and it is a gamble since we never know it will lead to a happy ending or otherwise. Hopefully, mine will fruit a favourable outcome. InsyaAllah.
Thoughts aside, let me give a snippet of what actually happened on this historic day of my life. Today I had registered for a Ph.D. in Biology program at the Faculty of Science and Mathematics, University Pendidikan Sultan Idris. The registration progress was no different from other universities where basically you need to submit all the documents, pay the fees, get some goodies and listen to the welcoming speech. Then, poofff! You are officially a PhD student. Simple as that. Maybe because I am registering within the same campus, it felt like a no big deal at all. But luckily I had a friend (my lab partner) who willingly accompanied me, taking my pictures and accompanying me throughout the day. Thanks to Dr (to-be) Siti Fatimah.
As the new chapter of my life begins, I purely need your good wishes and prayers and perhaps some support from all of you. And the most important of all, may Allah SWT bless me with the strength in facing challenges that lie ahead. The ship had set sail, endeavoring the rough seas. PhD life, here I come.
As the new chapter of my life begins, I purely need your good wishes and prayers and perhaps some support from all of you. And the most important of all, may Allah SWT bless me with the strength in facing challenges that lie ahead. The ship had set sail, endeavoring the rough seas. PhD life, here I come.
p/s: Putting my first step for a thousand miles of Ph.D. journey. Bismillah | ͰM
