Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you…my very FIRST VLOG!

Holding a camera and recording yourself is a fun task to do, but editing together your whole vlog? Not so much. Nevertheless, I hope my vlog provides you with a glimpse into my life as a PhD student (spoiler alert: it’s really not that different from any other student). Many people assume that a scientists job never ends, and while that is true, there are many perks about being a PhD student, such as the flexibility during the day. Being a PhD student means being a self-starter, having the ability to plan your own experiments, analyses and, basically, having self-discipline. Based on the amount of lab work that’s waiting for me, I usually start my day around 7am-8am and reach campus around 8:30am-9:00am. I’m definitely a “morning” person and prefer getting my work done early.

The best part of my morning is opening my door and having these two adorable four-legged creatures galloping towards me! After a small breakfast, I get ready for my travel to campus. Unfortunately, WITS is around 28-30 mins from home EXCLUDING traffic on the M1 (if you’re familiar with the M1, I’m sure you can relate to my struggle). Luckily, due to my flexible schedule, I can arrange my own times so that I skip the morning and afternoon traffic. My typical day at WITS consists of socialising, reading, lab-work, data analysis and planning for upcoming experiments. Since the new year has just started, and it being the first week returning to the lab, there was not much work to be done, basically just setting myself up for the upcoming week.

I like to think of myself as a non-typical PhD student. I believe that getting through a terminal degree such as a PhD shouldn’t tire you out mentally or physically which is why I appreciate the flexibility of my days. My program, although intense, allows me to enjoy my social life while still getting work done. From the vlog, it is quite evident that down-time is necessary. Overworking= overstressing= BURN-OUT. And that’s not good, for me, for my work or for my support system who has to deal with my crocodile tears.

So, thank you for watching my vlog, I am very enthusiastic about the year ahead which will be filled with PhD progress, weekend getaways (on a budget of course!) and accomplishing or at least TRYING to accomplish my goals with a focus on sci comm. Thanks to this vlogging experience, I feel much more comfortable in front of the camera and cannot wait to dive into my social media sci comm journey. If there are any science or personal vloggers out there, share your experiences and tips for us beginners 😊.

If you’re a “How I met your mother” fan like me, you probably read this blog title in Barney’s voice. If you’re not a fan of the show, I strongly suggest you switch to Netflix as soon as you’re done reading this post! Like many others, I have an array of series that I find myself repetitively watching (even though I know how each episode ends) such as Modern Family, HIMYM, Friends, The Big Bang Theory and let’s not forget about Charmed, the 1998 series about the sister witches. Maybe it’s the comfort in knowing how they end, or the homely feeling I have while watching them, but all I know is that a bad day can be fixed with one of my favourite series. What’s your go-to series that can make you smile or laugh on your worst days?

Believe it or not, I’m not JUST a couch potato. I love being out in the sun too. My family and I enjoy the adventurous side of life, river rafting, tubing, parachuting and the most adventurous experience of all, the Big Swing in Graskop, Mpumalanga. Just imagine the adrenaline as you roped up and told to walk BACKWARDS towards the 70-meter-high cliff above the waterfall. The best part of that experience was the tightening of the rope BEFORE we jumped off! Nevertheless, I still cherished the entire jump as my big sis was tied down with me…ride together, die together.

Speaking of whom, I would describe my sister as that really cool kid that has always got your back. She’s one of the most important people in my life, and because of her, I’ve got to experience the greater things in life. One of those being, the Ultra Music festival in Europe, Croatia (or “ooltra”, as they say in Split, Croatia). What a wonderful trip! From walking up five flights of stairs WITH our luggage (and back down when leaving), finding ourselves lost in the town…THREE times, dancing and singing along to Cheat codes and The Chainsmokers (who were literally a few feet away from us!) while partying until the morning light in a completely different country was a surreal experience. With a wholesome, fun family like mine, I know I can always count on my support system and they a part of my life that I am most grateful for.

Adding to my active lifestyle, I thoroughly enjoy dancing! Perhaps it’s because of the mandatory dancing at Indian weddings, but when that music blasts, I’m off to the dance floor. It’s a great way of letting go of your troubles, moving your body and enjoying the MOMENT. I recently also joined a community Zumba class which I definitely prefer over the usual exercise at the gym. If you’re looking for a healthy way to de-stress while having some fun, I recommend joining a dance class, or just turning up the music once in a while, you won’t regret it.

Wow, when I first started writing this blog, I thought it would be difficult, I hardly talk about myself anymore, it’s just about the “A” word (see title). It feels great to focus on all the other areas of my life, some of which I haven’t even managed to capture such as my reading quirks, honey-sweet addiction, being a mother of two puppies (a.k.a fully grown Labradors) and being a horror movie fanatic. So, although this post is about introducing myself as “MYSELF” and not my work…I have to give credit to one of my favourite facets of my life, my work. Without diving into the details, I will simply mention why I smile on the way to my university every morning: I set my own time to wake up, I set my own work schedule, I set my own break time, I have a healthy relationship with my “boss” (a.k.a supervisor) and co-workers, Oh…and I get the privilege of performing experiments which could potentially save the lives of millions of pancreatic cancer patients!

So, to all my fellow readers, that’s me, a woman who’s grateful for all facets of her wonderful life. No, it’s not rosy all the time, but life would be boring if it was. So, cheers to 2022 everyone, may we grow, conquer and love!