Lunchtime , as promised!

Here are some of the lessons I've learned as I reflect on my PhD journey.

First things first.

Getting a PhD was NOT was I expected! This is a very unique experience and everyone has their own view of the journey.

For me, it's been the most rewarding, stressful, and challenging thing I've ever done (so far in these 26 years of my life).

Now I love a good challenge, but not only am I trying to grow as a scientist, I'm going through growing pains as an adult.

Being 26 and STILL in school was something I don't think I ever got used to saying. You have these ideas growing up and not making money by your mid-20s was NOT what little Devin was thinking about.

Has it all been rainbows and unicorns? Absolutely not. But nothing at this level is supposed to be easy.

So on one hand I'm grateful for the challenge, but the depression/anxiety was NOT what I was planning for.

There have been stints of grad school where I was consistently having panic attacks. I was taking on too much, people were expecting TOO much from me at once, and I was not doing a great job of managing my mental health.

Here's lesson 1: Find your balance.

I had to look for my "tells" when I was on the verge of burnout. For me it was always what I was eating and what my apartment looked it.

If I stopped cooking and/or wasn't doing chores, I knew something was up.

Those were the moments I scheduled down time. I can't function all too well if I've overly stressed so I know (now) that "Devin time" is something I have to actively make time for.

I'm 100% the person that thinks she can do it all. (And I can't)

Consistently having panic attacks started by me not telling people they were happening, until I slipped up and told Sierra.

That's lesson 2: Find community.

Having her on notice that they were happening gave me an inherent accountability partner. Now she tells me "no" if she knows what I have on my plate.

We talk about everything anyway, so letting her into my brain about my mental health was a natural progression.

I also told another friend about them as well and she checks in with me often too.

Having a sense of community with people has helped me more than tweets can express. I can authentically be myself with my friends here and they always make sure I'm taking care of myself.

They also do a great job at taking care of me.

Community is also there when things are going really well. Remember how I said my friends threw me a little party to celebrate my current accomplishments? They always do that, and I for them. Nothing is too small, either.

Which brings me to lesson 3: celebrate yourself.

Now this is one I'm working on because I am terribleeeee at it. But it's important in grad school to celebrate and be proud of yourself for literally anything.

Some days, writing an outline is an accomplishment, other days, it's an award you got. But regardless, you always want to be your OWN cheerleader.

Another lesson I've learned is to understand your boundaries (this makes lesson 4) AND enforce them.

Whether it's with your dynamic with your advisor and/or labmates or even with your work/life balance, really consider your boundaries and lead with them.

Here's a Devin boundary (pre-COVID): I didn't take my laptop home during the week.

I kept work at work and home at home (when I could help it). I KNOW if I take my work home with me I won't get any rest/shut my brain off, so I left it at work.

I'll end this thread with lesson 5: love what you do.

I LOVE my research. That was a stipulation for me when I came to grad school. At the end of the day I wanted to love what I did.

Now, I get frustrated with it, as I'm sure we all do, but at the end of the day, I enjoy it.

The older I get, the more I'm looking to do things I love because I'll actually put the work it to do them. If I don't like something, my effort is half assed. So throughout this journey I'm happy to say that my work is something I've always been proud of.

Alright, I'll end this here. Hopefully you enjoyed Devin's 5 Grad School Lessons.

These I thought were the *most* important, but I'll definitely answer any specific questions and/or offer other advice.