My Life as a Ph.D. Comic

Hi all! It has been so fun to read your stories and hear what is going on in your lives.

My life has really not changed much at all in the last two years. I am now in my third year at UCR and have completed the requirements for my M.S. degree since I finished my coursework in March. I will be officially ABD when I take my Oral Qualifying Exam sometime this year. These days I am primarily working on a research project for my dissertation. There is nothing glamorous about it though as I spend most of my time troubleshooting and haven’t actually collected meaningful data since last November. During the regular school year and summer session, I’m also a teaching assistant for General Chemistry (the part of grad school I actually like).

I am attending the same two Bible study groups that I have been involved with since I moved to Riverside. One of them is through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship with other UCR grad students. The other one is through the church I attend. Most of the other people in that group are young, married couples and I have become especially good friends with one of the couples, Torrey chums from a few years ahead of us.

I visit my family regularly since I live close by. My sister is a sophomore at Biola (when did we all get so old?), my brother just started his first year as a physics grad student at UCI (poor guy), my dad is still teaching at FCC (he's been there about 30 years), and my mom is now the secretary in the science department at Biola working with Peggy (Susan has become exclusively Dr. Stangl's assistant). Brett and I are still dating and he is in his second year at Pepperdine Law. While we're both busy with school, we still try to see each other a couple times a month at least.

I do not have a lot of adventures to share. I was a bridesmaid in a friend’s wedding and planned her bachelorette party (nothing too crazy, I promise), my family went for two short vacations to San Diego, I have sadly had to attend a few funerals of loved ones, and it seems like everyone I know is either getting married or having babies. My newest extracurricular activity (all sarcasm intended) is that I am in physical therapy for a second round trying to deal with my shoulder injury from archery. The good news is that it seems much more successful this time. The bad news, my shoulder hurts.

The main important thing I do want to share with you all is that this year is a crossroads for me. When I originally applied to UCR, I fully intended to take a terminal Master’s degree and find a teaching job. As I prepare for the Oral Qualifying Exam and take all the necessary steps to continue the Ph.D. route, I am simultaneously reapplying to graduate programs in Education, looking for a job, and wondering what direction to take. While I am unsure right now as to where I will end up, I have no doubt that coming to UCR in the first place was the right path, as difficult as it has been. When you think of me please pray for clarity and that I will come to know where the Lord is leading me, even if where he's leading me is to stay where I am.

I often think of all of you and reflect on our time in Torrey together. While not every day at Biola was a picnic and there were days we got sick of each other, kind of like siblings do, I miss being there and I miss all of you.

Take Care Chums,

Lydia

P.S. I'm reading The Hobbit with Brett in preparation for December! Very excited about the movie!