What have I actually achieved in life?

Weirdly, there are times when I feel like others my age have their lives sorted while I'm just stumbling around - of course, I'm not saying that it's true, as I don't know what their lives are really like - perhaps we're all stumbling around!? And I say "weirdly" because, you know, I have finished a Ph.D. and that's not an easy thing to do! - the thing is though, this fact often doesn't seem that significant to me, due to the fact that most of the time I'm around people who are either pursuing or have obtained a Ph.D. - I remember saying this to a few of my fellow Ph.D. students! It's as if it's become "normal" that you are either working towards or have finished a Ph.D. somehow...

Perhaps even weirder is the fact that after the Viva (see this post for more about the Viva), I didn't feel like "Wooo, I've done it!", I just felt... flat... if I'm totally honest. That was unexpected and weird, because I'd been building up to that point for years! But perhaps it was because I'd been anticipating it for years that I felt flat? And, I'm still not sure it's sunk in properly yet, despite the fact that my corrections have been approved and I have now handed in a hard-bound copy to the library! - this basically means that the whole Ph.D. process is finished, and once you get approval from the board of studies you will be able to graduate with a Ph.D.

But it's when I look back, particularly at the last five(!) years that I realise how much has changed in my life. To think that I finished my Masters, then started my Ph.D., got ill and then managed to actually finish my Ph.D. is remarkable really... even if I say so myself!

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that sometimes, we all need to take a step back and think about what we have actually achieved - because the chances are, there are many things which you have achieved in your life, and we shouldn't forget about these achievements - even those which you think are small. And don't compare yourself to others - we all have different lives, so just because one person has achieved something which you haven't, that does NOT mean you are a failure! - because you will have achieved something else in your life.

So, let's all start celebrating our individual achievements! - what are some of yours?

Cheers,
Maho