Grad School: The PhD Edition- Years 2 & 3, So You're a PhD Candidate?
Me giving my Candidacy Talk in April Ice cream hangout So, about this PhD I'm doing. The last couple of (school) years have been TRYING! Hence the unintentional hiatus. If you have read any of my previous blog posts about grad school, you probably remember that I have struggled with exams. Well, in the first semester of my second year, I went through a psychological evaluation and received a diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder, which can manifest as performance-based anxiety. With this diagnosis, I was able to get exam accommodations that included extended time on tests and a distraction-reduced environment. It honestly felt good to know that my anxiety was not just something I made up but a real thing I experience. I wish I could say that the accommodations solved all my exam problems (lol), but I still struggled in some cases. I did, however, come across a professor in a course who understood my plight and allowed me to take an oral exam alongside a written one. Her compassion ...