Toxic Academia | Part 1: Intro
If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t think anyone will read this. I did therapy from March 2022 to November 2022, and something my therapist suggested was to journal, write, whatever, as a way of processing my emotions. For some reason typing on Google docs or Microsoft Word with no chance of anyone seeing my thoughts wasn’t good enough, and some part of me wants people who know me to recognize this as me, even though I’m trying to remain anonymous with an alias, for some very good reasons you will see later. So here I am. No, my real name is not Rosie Frank.
I’m several years into my PhD studying... something related to computer science and biology. Maybe I’ll share one day what my major is but not yet. Anyways, I know everyone’s PhD is hard, no one has the same exact experience or the same hardships, but that does not invalidate my own. Some of my hardships I want to write about are things others have experienced, and some are hardships that are rare and have been... well, upsetting to say the least. More on that later.
When I first began my PhD, I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t really know why. Yes, the research is time consuming and challenging, the qualifying exam is stressful, and life is living, breathing, and dreaming about research. But that has not been the hard part. If I could have looked into a crystal ball and taken a peak into my future, I think I wouldn’t have done a PhD at all.
If anyone is reading this, thank you. Really, this is for anyone. While I’m writing, I’m thinking about current graduate students, PI’s, academic directors and coordinators, women in STEM (anyone in STEM), anyone curious about science, anyone skeptical of science, anyone. My objective is to blog about my experience, in the hopes that others with similar experiences don’t feel alone. I aim to be candid and honest, and put this out into the universe over a series of multiple posts. Spoiler alert: I’m not a writer. I’ve written scientific papers, but my writing skills are mediocre at best. Sorry for that.
XX Rosie Frank
