Its not the engineering you did, Its not the statistics issue you resolved, its not even the genetic code you cracked.
No. When you walk away with a PhD degree, it is not an acknowledgement to your contribution to your field of research.
It is in fact an acknowledgement of all the days you spent struggling to learn some very important lessons.
You discover that you never get things right on the first go. Hell you do not get it right even on the second, third or for that matter on the tenth go. The PhD teaches you to brave the disappointment, look past the pinch of failing, and try yet again.
You discover that the science that surrounds your tiny little world of quest is overwhelming.The PhD teaches you to be OK with feeling that sense of stupidity even on the day of your thesis assessment.
You discover that things are never in place and you are forever in a world of unknowns. The PhD teaches you to find the strength to continue solving your puzzle with a hope that things will fall into place at the right time.
You discover that you do not get a gold star even when you have published your first paper. Nothing you do seems good enough. The PhD teaches you that this is the secret behind pushing yourself into doing a better job.
Of course, having a supervisor who knows when to cut you some slack and when to hold your neck to a knife helps. Sharing an office with others who have equally scarring stories also helps. Having friends who will barge into your room and drag you for dinner when its been days since you have left the vicinity of your desk is a blessing you cannot be thankful enough for. Having best friends who complain about your lack of communication, but still love you none the less is priceless.Having parents who will silently listen to you vent about all the frustrations is more than what you can hope for. Having that special someone who will see you through all your mood swings and tell you that he loves you every single night....is probably what what will make all of this worth the struggle.
And finally having a backup plan,like a career in music, is well... common sense!!
