Did You Walk Long Enough? – About the Journey of a PhD Researcher Through a Hike
(* Let’s go on a hike, shall we? *)
Did you walk long enough, before you gave up?
The road beneath was gravelly,
And so were you – unsteady!
Sweating profusely!
Out of breath!
You took a pause..
While your mind racing fast -
deciding ways you could take!
Not the ones on map, but the ones to go back!
The road back was the one you knew for sure,
Whereas the trail ahead was too uncertain -
You knew not whether you had it in you, to dare!
(*..did you feel like this – not being sure of your phd topic, even after your literature review?*)
(*You still walked a bit more!*)
There, then were you listening to the shrill call of the yellow-billed crow?
No!
Probably your heart was pounding too hard?
Or was it your brain anxiously chattering away?
But your body – maybe it just wanted to linger a bit more,
And embrace the fresh mountain air!!
( *Did you also feel similarly anxious about where you are headed?*)
If you weren’t already walking back,
Probably you would have sensed the fresh earthly smell lurking in the cold breeze!
If you weren’t walking back,
You would have known that the ominous overcast sky threatening to rain,
Would soon have made way for sunshine past little drizzles and few trots!
( *something like after the initial uncertainty, you start to settle and find your pace*)
Did you yet climb high enough ?
Where you feel the gentle breeze turning. into a cold whip slapped across your face?
The soft green carpet beneath your feet gradually changing to a sharp edgy rock?
( *sounds like rejections!*)
(*But you carried on, so..*)
Did you tread long enough ?
– To slog past the next bend,
– To see not one peak, but several others lined up past beautiful valleys!
– To find not your destination, but thousand more possibilities?
(*sounds like first accepted publications or work!*)
When you did walk long enough and …
Then slowly you looked down and all around..
Now the freezing wind singing to you the lore of your success!
The height you reached from where you thought you would never be looking from!
(*accepted in top-tier conferences!*)
Did you linger long enough ?
– To actually know what you gave up on!
– The road to the top for sure it’s not easy!
But the height you ascend will definitely add to your vision-
A portrait that your mind could never paint!
For the mind only paints, what it has known.
For the unknown, lies infinite possibilities
So did you walk long enough?😃
