PhD Graduation - 1 Year On
A year ago today I officially graduated from my Doctoral thesis. A four and a half year undertaking during which I gave birth to my two beautiful boys and also had another pregnancy which we lost. This photograph which my friend Kerry took captures the essence of the day. I have not shared this photo before. It was a moment which I dreamed of and visualised thousands of times during that period. The moment when I was about to walk across the stage and be granted my thesis. The look on my face says everything. I was fighting back tears feeling a huge roller coaster of emotions- as I thought back on the nearly five year journey that had led me to that moment. All the times I was so close, so very close to giving up – literally I think over that time I had drafted at least five emails to my supervisors saying I was going to pull out. That first harsh winter with our eldest son when he was about 8 months old and we were in hospital just before my data collection was due to start. The loss ...