2024 - PhD Chronicles + Real Estate DLC
2024 has swiftly passed by - my PhD journey in Sweden continues to be challenging yet enriching and fulfilling and a significant milestone was achieved with my house purchase in Estonia.
A year has swiftly passed by and I find myself writing yet another annual update. My PhD journey in Sweden continues to be challenging yet enriching and fulfilling. While balancing personal life with doing a PhD can sometimes be complicated, having my partner Ally really helps as she is going through similar struggles throughout her final year of her PhD studies. Though travel took a backseat this year, a significant milestone was achieved with my house purchase in Estonia.
PhD: growing pains & small victories
The comfort of saying “I’m just a first-year PhD student” has passed, and while expectations have grown, so has my confidence (a bit). The occasional imposter syndrome still visits my conscience, but I’ve noticed how my accumulated knowledge and skills within the field of neurodegenerative diseases and neuroimaging are finally starting to click together. The interdisciplinary and enthusiastic lab environment and supportive supervisors have been instrumental in my increased confidence. The patience of my supervisors with my sometimes unconventional ideas has been remarkable - many weird ideas and seemingly naive questions have been met with constructive feedback, shaping me into a more well-rounded researcher. Beyond that, the support among fellow PhD students has been invaluable. I feel that we have a strong support system where one can easily express their issues to each other and most often everyone has been at a similar situation before and can share their experiences and insights. There’s something deeply reassuring about knowing that these moments of doubt and struggle aren’t personal shortcomings but rather universal experiences in the PhD journey, each of us processing them in our own way.
In comparison to the initial plans, my thesis topic has changed a bit. Nevertheless, I’m now putting the finishing touches on my first manuscript, but I can’t help but to reflect on what a rollercoaster this project has been. Initially, we faced the humbling experience of finding no evidence for our primary hypothesis, and we were prepared to publish it as a null-finding but eventually we developed a secondary hypothesis which provided some remarkable findings. This is what’s cool about science - you conceptualise, gather and analyse the data, and interpret the findings, and it can confirm or not confirm your initial hypotheses and sometimes even lead you down to a new unexpected path. While this detour extended the timeline of the project, the excitement of these discoveries made the wait worthwhile. Still, I won’t sugarcoat it - there were days when I left the lab feeling completely defeated and just thinking that I will never finish it. The key is remembering those tiny breakthrough moments that make it all worthwhile. Looking ahead, I’m already diving into my second project which I’m very excited about, and I’m feeling optimistic about my half-time review seminar later this new year.
Finding balance: travelling & countryside home
Northern European summers remain unmatched with their endless daylight and just perfect temperatures (and people actually look like they are enjoying their lives for once!). Ally and I took a well-deserved break, splitting our time between our Swedish home, a getaway trip to the Netherlands, and visiting friends and family in Estonia. September brought a life-changing decision - purchasing an old farmhouse in the Estonian countryside. While it needs substantial renovation before becoming habitable, it represents a dream for my whole family: a permanent residence for my parents who’ve always yearned for a quiet life at the countryside, and a summer retreat for me and Ally until we need a more permanent place to settle down. And of course my younger brother who is “super eager” to do a lot of physical labor at the house while I’m here in Sweden! The winter holidays were spent quietly in Lund, embracing the cozy indoor “rotting on the couch” that suits the grey season. While we postponed a trip to Estonia to spring or summer, we enjoyed quality time with some friends, including a week-long visit from a close friend and a memorable New Year’s Eve dinner.
Looking ahead
I’ve skipped the traditional New Year’s resolutions this time around. My plans are quite obvious - advancing my PhD while dedicating summer months to bringing some life into the old farmhouse. These two priorities - professional growth and creating a dream home - will shape my coming year, and I’m looking forward to embracing both challenges.