November 2008 Archives

Last time, I see a joke, some kids are making fun of graduate students - lousy dress, disordered hair with the word "I am a graduate student. I am thirty and I make 20 thousand a year". Then their mom says: Don't laugh at them. They are not bad guys. They just make bad decisions of their lives.

Well, is graduate life that bad? With no fun and just boring work? I don't think so. I think most of us choose graduate school because they like to do the research of their majors. And we can have fun in it. Also, graduate school does not mean just work no entertainment. We can make friends here who share interests with us not just academically. So it is our decision to spend graduate school with fun or not.

As for me, I would like to do research than just coding. Exploring new things can make me excited and devoted. Right now I am working on social network analysis. At first, I thought it's just some analysis of models using some math or statistical methods. But after I find out the huge potential applications, I realize the meaningful and attracting parts, and now I really enjoy the work I am doing.

Also, it is best to balance work and rest. The Penn State University has provided us a lot of activities from art to sports, not to mention there are also kinds of clubs and organizations. And there are special activities for graduate and international students. We can have fun here. Also, we can make new friends here who share the interests with us, that's not just have fun, it's also the fortune of life.  

So, do not just listen to others, and do not take graduate school is boring for granted. Just make yourself happy and enjoy the life in graduate school.

It is important to realize that graduate school is not just about technical matters, there are a lot more involved which are equally important for graduate study and career. Among them, in my opinion, character traits and social skills are the most important, like self-motivation, good communication in both oral and writing, persistence and initiative. We need to balance these factors to get the most success in graduate school.

To have a clear goal for graduate school and future career is essential. What is our goal in graduate school, what research directions are we interested in and plan to work on, what academic result do we plan to get during graduate school. And the most important thing is to figure out why do we want the Ph.D. degree. Do we really want to do research or we just want to find a good job with Ph.D. degree? If the answer is the latter one, we should really think about if it worth it, after the long time working on new theories or algorithms with tiredness, loneliness and maybe a lot of failures. But on the other way, research can be interesting to explore those new things, especially when you enjoy the results you have found. And for some technical persons, it is more boring to do coding than research. So if we have the clear goal to gain the Ph.D. degree, and we are determined to do that, we will enjoy our graduate study.  

After we have the clear goal, the rest thing is to work hard and work with skills. Gaining Ph.D. degree is a long journey. During the five years, we may waste our time doing something non-academic for the simple reason of lazy or just because we think we still have plenty of time. And it will be too late years later when we find out that we have fell behind and so little work we have done. Also, we have to work with skills, that means we should follow up the newest trend, get the useful information and tools and so on. 

Another important thing is to enjoy life in graduate school. Don't tire yourself out because you will find graduate school is so boring and gradually you will lose your passion and interest. And don't make graduate school feel like in jail and just think about how to get out. This is the decision we make, and graduate school is also a part of life, try to enjoy it and do out best.

To sum up, in order to flourish in graduate school, we should have a clear goal, work hard and develop with those non-academic skills.

Maybe the social activities I am attending right now are not exactly the clubs or organizations, some of them are probably called exercise or hanging out with friends, but still, through these regular activities, I know more and more friends and I feel relaxed after the intense study and work.

The most frequent activity I have participated is attending the areobics class in white building. I take the class almost every day, except Saturday when the class is not provided.  Usually, I join the Calorie Killer class, while sometimes hip hop class or some other classes I think may be fun and would like to try. After a full day of hard work, I feel tired or sleepy, but when I finish these workout exercises, I really feel myself energetic and full of strength. Some people may relax by listening to music or watching movies, some may relax by drinking beers or attending parties, some may relax by gentle workout like yoga or pilates, but I like intense workout exercise while listening to fast-move music and doing it with many energetic girls. To be honest, the 60-75 minutes workout is not easy, especially at the very first beginning, but I think it's a way to help me exercise my insistence and make me don't give up. Also, beyond my expectation, I get to know some friends who are always attending the same classes frequently and we are having fun together when we workout.

Also, since I have a super fan of movies, I join my Chinese friends every Friday night to go to the theater to watch the newest and popular movies. It is wonderful to appreciate those thought-provoking, touched or magnificent scenes. And I can discuss the content and what I have learned with my friends. It can also help me relax after the intense study and workout.

Also, some of my Chinese friends and I like to try new recipe of Chinese food every weekend. Each of us cook some new or one's best Chinese food or bake some desert, and then we bring them together and share. It's really a nice moment to enjoy different delicious food and enjoy the talking with friends. Sometimes, I go to some of my American friends' parties or go to bars with them. During the time hang out with them, they teach me some American customs and slangs, and in return, I tell them something about China. Most of the time, they are surprised about the misunderstandings about China. I think that's because sometimes China just shows its amazing things in the ancient history and those new modern changes haven't been emphasized. Maybe we should introduce the both sides of China.

Right now I haven't joined any academic club, I think I will try such clubs where I can share and discuss my ideas and hear other voices in the same area.