Lesson #9

> After a huge achievement, life feels empty (2025.12.03)

A friend just defended her PhD and that is one of the most difficult things anyone can do, that you wonder how crazy one must be to embark on such a journey. It reminded me of my own journey. Getting a PhD should flood you with joy and the feeling of invincibility, but, in fact, it's a feeling of dread and somehow, anticlimax. You're happy for two seconds before being consumed by thoughts of what comes next. 2007 me made a blog post with a list of wants, and one of the wants was to get a PhD but then that's it. But it's not just PhDs. I remember getting a scholarship in 2015, and I was happy for the two seconds I read the email, then emptiness again. Similarly, being done with MSc exams and waking up in a panic that I haven't studied enough.