Spring 2024 is about to end. This means I'm about to finish my third year PhD and entering as a senior come Fall 2024. However, there's still the summer semester and my quals to deal with. Ugh. I'm dreading my quals!!! I'm not sure if I'm fully prepared for it honestly. I feel that I am, but I may not.
Moving on, the purpose of this post is to warm myself up for the manuscript I'm about to write. Sometimes I feel the need to prime myself before writing; like there's a plug that needs to be removed for the words to flow. Also, I noticed that in the gym, I dance or move myself to the music to psych myself up before doing a difficult set. Difficult like forward lunges with 30-35lbs kettlebells per arm, or 25lbs dumbbell per arm bench presses. Motivating and psyching myself up, yup, I think I need this every time I do something challenging.
So for the manuscript, I am writing about my experiences as an international student in her mid-30s who came to the US to pursue PhD studies in an unfamiliar field. My target audience for this article are international students in their mid-30s thinking of moving to the US to pursue a graduate degree. Manuscript should be <1,000 words, and must be written in a story-telling manner - engaging and thoughtful, has a realization at the end. I've read some examples and I think this helped me think of how I'll write my piece. I'm used to writing blog posts anyway, but I guess I just need this piece to be more thoughtful and concise. Omit needless words, as Strunk and White said.
Okay, we can do this! Already warmed up a bit and it's just a matter of writing it! Let's go! hoping my diarrhea won't affect today's writing so much 😅
until then,
