Celebration

So its been a while since I visited my own blog. Received the necessary gentle reminder from my roomie last night when she asked me how long had it been since I blogged. Its been a couple of months. My really good excuse to myself is that I was preparing for, writing, and then celebrating the completing of my Phd exams - writtens and orals. A huge ordeal, a terribly nerve -wrecking process, and then lots of celebration. Its been 3 weeks since I passed Comps, and I am still celebrating, which is fine because the semester is rather slow since the big day has passed.

So I don't really know what to write about - since a few topics deserve my attention and thoughts -- so let me start with ending the exams. 12th Feb 2010. A momentous day in my life now. The day I officially became a PhD candidate. I am very proud of this achievement. And very grateful that I was able to accomplish this. I may have made it clear that I am very proud, grateful, happy, excited of having the opportunity to study in a good school like the U of A in the land where dreams come true... Sounds filmy but it is true... I am privileged and I hope I make the best of this opportunity.

So being a Phd candidate.. or an ABD (All but Dissertation) signifies you are 2 steps away from attaining the attribution of being Dr. Aakriti Anilkumar Tandon. I may very well be Dr Aakriti Tandon-Atri by the time I get there, but the emphasis here is on the Doctor part. The sound of that word is going to be music for my ears. The surprising part is I didn't really grow up with this dream. I didn't want to do my Phd in International Relations until my Junior year while doing my BA in Journalism when I was exposed to a few classes in IR... and then there was no looking back. I know what I would love doing my entire life. And then IR/ politics permeates all aspects of life. Plus you have the opportunity to make a real contribution to decisions that affect people. Came across this quote form Paulo Coehlo just now....

"Everybody is a political writer, even if he writes about plants. You cannot avoid being political. The fact that you speak out or that you are silent is a political act -- silence is also political."

The next step is to write a dissertation proposal that I can be proud of. And then to complete the dissertation itself. Another 2 years of splendid research and reading stuff that makes my adrenaline rush. Not a bad deal.

Lets get onto it...