Adelaide9216

I am on the waiting list to adopt a child. The psychosocial evaluation will probably happen when I'll be in the middle of my Ph.D. program. If it does happen like that, it will be challenging, but surely not impossible (I am single but have a lot of family support).

Hello, anyone here applying for a Vanier scholarship this year for Fall 2019?

I agree with you. When I'm in school, I feel at peace and at my place. And I feel happy. I work hard and there is always a little bit of anxiety around school, but I've always seen positive results in my case and I have always been able to cope and manage. I guess I'm just scared of Ph.D. programs (even though I really want to do a Ph.D. and am really passionate about my topic) but I've been hearing/reading/seeing so many horror stories...The funny thing is that I've always been a A type of student. I have never truly struggled academically. I even dare to say that I find my MA program quite easy so far and the idea of writing a master's thesis is not intimidating to me. So I don't know why I am worried. Even my professors and classmates could see me pursue a Ph.D. when I was a undergraduate student and at that time, I did not even know that I wanted to do a Ph.D. I just never thought of myself studying for so long and so far. I guess it must because I don't know what to expect in a Ph.D. program. Seeing a therapist is a good option. I am going to re-start seeing one in the following weeks (for other reasons), but I'm sure it'll help and this is something I will be able to discuss with her.

Hello, bumping this thread. A lot of graduate students tend to be overachievers (and I include myself in saying this). I want to apply to Ph.D. programs this year, but am afraid that ph.d programs are going to be detrimental to my mental health... (I live with mental illness but have always been able to cope through my entire studies, even during my MA program). Plus, I am the first one of my family to get a university degree, and even more so, a graduate university degree and I feel this pressure to succeed even though my family does not place this pressure on my shoulders. Anyone else feeling the same way?

It's called Ouvrir La voix by Amandine Gay. It is screening in Montreal, Canada. But it has been in France and probably still is the case.

I empathize with you. I went through one major break-up while in school and I found it really hard to manage daily activities after that. But I've made it through. I'm sure you will too, even though, it must be indeed very difficult at first. Time often helps in these situations. And after some time, you end up realizing why it was a good thing that the relationship ended, even if you can't see it at first.

Hello! Which program do you use for transcribing qualitative interviews? I am looking for cheap options. Thank you

I ate a huge bowl of fruits (super healthy!), was very productive in terms of academic work and scholarships applications. Tomorrow, I am going to see a very interesting movie on black women in France and am probably going to write an article for the school newspaper on it. Today was a good day.

Any advice for those applying this year?

Recruitement for my advisory comittee for my master's thesis project is going well!

I have reached out multiple times to current students for advice when applying to programs. Never had an issue. Some of them even gave me their phone number so we could talk about it on the phone. ( I'm in the social sciences.) But maybe it depends on the field. Also, my university has a reddit online forum and it's pretty active. Maybe it's the case of your prospective uni. You could ask questions there too.

This week, I was zero productive. I feel like I've made no progress. It bothers me because I am usually productive. Low energy, mood and motivation this week. Hope it will go away.

Google.

Thanks for your reply. I just went to the pharmacy and took a bottle of vitamins after speaking with the pharmacist. Yeah, it happens to everyone, but I still need to get things done and I feel pretty low, tired and sad lately. Thanks for caring. <3

Hello, Do you have any tips against low energy and lack of motivation? I've got a lot of things to do this term but feel a bit tired (maybe from the previous semester as well). I was thinking of taking some vitamins or something but I don't know which ones would be best, I'd need to speak with a pharmacist. PS : I sleep 8 hours everyday and take naps whenever I can. Still feel like I have low energy.

It went very well. Should have an answer (positive or negative) by Monday. Thank you for asking.

I had a job interview this morning for a dream job that went very well. Will know next week if I got it.

I have a job interview tomorrow morning for a dream summer job. Am nervous.

I went to McDonalds yesterday to have a chocolate/nutella croissant + a moka coffee and the lady at the counter gave me the coffee for free.

I am sorry you are feeling this way. I grew up with a single stay-at-home mother and I have four younger siblings. My father is still around, but has always had two jobs to support us. My parents were never able to pay for my postsecondary studies - even if they both wanted to - it was just impossible for them to do it. So I made my way through my program with small and prestigious scholarships, student loans and part-time work. I kinda understand where you're coming from. I remember in my class in high school, I was in a program in which I was the only kid whose parents were not living in a "house" and other students pointed that out to me. My family and I were living in an appartement. And it just never occured to me before that I was living in an appartement while all of my classmates had a house. But it made me realize that I was scared to invite my friends to my place because I was afraid that they'd judge me or something or I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough room at my place to welcome them. I co-organized a trip of two days, fully subsidized, a few months ago with two university colleagues. We had to organize hotel rooms as part of this project. And one day, we were talking, just the three of us, saying that some students were complaining about the quality of the hotel while other students were satisfied with what it because they just never had the opportunity to sleep in a hotel in the past. I also recall in my undergraduate program, I had a class colleague who was doing sex work to make ends meet. Most of her family was deceased so she literally had no support (and I find her to be incredibly resilient as well and would say it to her many times.) And I remember listening another girl who just said in an informal class conversation "My father just put 20 000$ in my bank account this morning". And you could tell that she wasn't bragging or anything like that, it was just normal for her and had always been part of her reality. I think it's just really hard for people to envision a reality they have never really experienced. It's not because people are bad intentionned or mean-spirited, I think it's just a blind spot that most of us have because we don't hang out most of the time with people that are different from us or have different life paths. And because we have preconcied ideas on a lot of people who experience different realities than ours. I feel the same way about racism for instance, whenever I have to explain it to someone who does not experience it on a daily basis. At this point, I think it's just a matter of being attentive and having empathy for others. Sometimes, it's also a matter of lack of life experience and of maturity which is not something that people can always be blamed for. I give the benefit of the doubt in most cases. I really do think that it's more a better of "blind spot". At the same time, I want to add that you may not know what their finances might really look like. They might be struggling too or found other strategies to do the things they are doing. You never know. Just because they appear to be more comfortable financially also does not mean that they can't be good friends. I think you should give these people a chance. I think we live in a "free country" where everyone is free to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't harm anyone else. They have the right to do whatever they want with their money too.

Managed to do a lot of work in my RAship. Proud of myself.

I watched the first episode of How to Get Away with Murder. So good!

Hello, I have also never been in a relationship. And I was bullied and rejected by most my peers in elementary and high school (in my case, it was out of jealousy). I spent most of my teenage years being literally afraid of others because almost any interaction I'd have with my peers would be harmful/stressful/anxiety provoking to me. I also live with mental illness. I had a breakdown 8 yrs ago and the girl I used to be "died" after that. I'm a much better, happier person now even if the path to recovery has been incredibly painful. Most importantly, I am not afraid anymore of going towards others and to start friendships. I realized that I was creating barriers and walls and I'm glad that I came to a point where I was ready to break them for good. The experiences you're describing are actually quite common. I understand where you're coming from, but I think you're creating a bridge between yourself and others from the get-go. People are now adults. They're not children and you're not a child. People evolve, change and mature. And that definetly helps to have more meaningful friendships as you get older in my opinion. It's easy to get stuck in this idea that people will conduct themselves in the same way they used to when they were kids or teens because of that "trauma" of being an outsider. Also, a partner does not have to be exactly like you for a relationship to be successful. I am not speaking from my own experience on this but from what I have witnessed in my close friends who are committed in serious relationships. I think you need to give people a chance and not assume that they won't be willing to speak to you or be friends with you without having even tried. More often than not, lots of your peers are sharing these same feelings of loneliness but aren't talking about it in an obvious way for others to see. Finally, one thing that's been really helpful for me (and saved my life at the time) has been volunteering for a cause. I met people who had similar values to mine and shared common interests. And meeting people through the Internet as it's already been mentionned is also something that's really helpful (MeetUp, Dating websites, FB, etc.) Hope this helps.

Managed to spend the last two days without feeling too depressed. Today is a good day.

I finished my readings for the day! And I am going to take part in a really cool project tomorrow morning with a group of young girls who are working on leadership of WOC.