Yesterday I had my official upgrade meeting for my PhD – which means that I am now registered as a PhD student rather than as an MPhil student. This involves presenting a thesis outline and a draft chapter of your work to a couple of scary academics and being grilled on it for 45 minutes or so.
As you can image, since the date for this was set a couple of weeks ago my stress levels have slowly been rising.
Do I know what I’m talking about? If I don’t, can i convince experts in the field that I do? Have I re-read my work enough times? Have I followed up on all the loose ends (impossible – they’ll always find something you haven’t thought of!) Just how do you prepare for such a thing? Will I make a fool of myself and have to go through it all again in a couple of months?
These are just some of the things that have been going through my head over the last couple of weeks.
But in a funny way I’ve felt quite alive throughout the build up. Being busy and having stuff to do and think about gives you a sense of purpose and drive. I guess it’s all about getting the levels right – avoiding burn out and brown out.
Having said that, it was a great relief to get the upgrade and be able to relax for a few days. I appreciate watching crap TV so much more after a spate of stress!
