Now a Doctor...

So, it's been a while. The last three months have flown by. I moved back to Canada having lived in the UK and Europe for the last 3 and a half years. It was a bit of a culture shock, especially since I have just taken up a research job at the university where I did my undergrad. It's a town which is familiar yet different. Five years has really changed the town but perhaps it has also changed the way I look at a place. I recognize streets but not the shops. I remember places yet forget. I don't want to step back into my 22 year old life and thankfully enough most of my old friends are gone, but at the same time, it's easy to get comfortable, yet forget what I've experienced and how I've grown over the last couple years. I'm still struggling with the fact that I've left my comfort zone and left my friends, but my new job is going well, I've been learning a lot. My work is allowing me to get back into the texts that help us understand the ancient world and putting my own work back into context. It's been a great experience so far and I look forward to the next couple of months.

So, since we last spoke (or last wrote), I headed back to St Andrews to defend my thesis. Well, I'd have to say it was the hardest thing I've ever done but I definitely wouldn't trade it for anything. The whole PhD thing, well, I feel the same way. I don't want to do it again, but I definitely wouldn't trade this experience for the world. As for the defence, it's not everyday you have two experts who have read your "book" and have nothing better to do for just under two hours than discuss it with you. Yes, it's hard to hear the major issues with my work but everything they said will only make my thesis (and my future research) stronger. So now I am a Doctor, but the future of the Ancient Historian is uncertain. The state of the academic world is a mess. There are few jobs but I will keep trying and hopefully something will come up. If not, there's always Starbucks.....