Graduate school is a unique place. In my humble opinion, it is an absurd place. The notion of committing half a decade (or more) of one's life to exploring the unknown seems exciting and romantic on the surface. However, it is highly misleading. The realities of grad school are brutal; the research climate is uncertain, the stipend is meager, research papers getting rejected is disheartening, and grading midterm and final exams is mind numbing. So how does one survive graduate school, how does one get a Ph.D.?

Truth be told, there is no straight forward answer to this question, there is no silver bullet. A famous person once said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards". Looking back when I connect the dots, it is apparent that the only reason why I survived grad school is because of the amazing people that I met and the work that I did. I absolutely loved my work and the people that I worked with.

Grad school is a very personal process, a journey that one needs to take on their own. It is hard to  understand this journey without actually going through it. The lessons that I learnt during this incredible journey are innumerable.  Rolling with the punches, respecting ideas and opinions without necessarily agreeing with them, and managing uncertainties are just a few of the them. The most important lesson though is the fact that there are no shortcuts in life. 

As humbling as these lessons are, ultimately, grad school has given me the confidence that wherever I go, whoever I am with, I will be fine. The dots will all connect. And for this confidence, I sincerely thank you grad school. 

I have come across several definitions of the God Complex. The one I quote here is found on Urban Dictionary (of all sources!)

"A psychosis based in uncontrolled narcissism, inflated arrogance and a perceived need to subjugate and/or ridicule other individuals deemed to be inferior or unworthy."

In this interesting talk Tim Harford talks about the God Complex and possible ways of containing it. I was particularly surprised when I realized that over the past few years, I have become increasingly comfortable with "I don't know" as an answer to a question!