Without fail, ever
y four years, the Summer Olympics craze gets me hooked. I am pulled in by the backstories of these impressive athletes--hearing about their struggles, their tenacity, and their climb to success. I am invigorated by those adrenaline-inducing track-and-field finishes, and those breath-taking, record-breaking swim races. All of these athletes dedicate their heart, soul, energy, and muscle-power into doing that which no one else in the world can do as well--excel within their chosen field at the highest level possible. This is not much unlike what we experience in graduate school.
On a personal level, I connect with athletes in one of the most popular Olympic sports: women's gymnastics. Having been a gymnast growing up, I know precisely the hard work and dedication that is required to be successful in this difficult sport. I know about the countless hours that must be devoted to practice. I unfortunately know about the painful injuries, but I also know about the thrill of victory.
Watching the US Olympic Women's Gymnastics team dominate in the team finals a few weeks ago brought these memories back to the forefront of my mind. I realized that, although I had retired from the sport years ago, I still deeply connected with the lessons that I had learned during my training. I also came upon the realization that success in gymnastics is not much unlike success in graduate school. So, just like I do whenever I am feeling inspired, I sat down to reflect on my thoughts, and began writing a poem:
Success is hard work
Day after day after day
Hour after hour after hour
Practice after practice after practice
Hard work and dedication
Learning new skills
Perfecting the move
Setbacks
Readjustments
Redefining the path to success
Because it's not a straight line
It's a zigzag
It's a curve
Not all smiles
When you've gone miles and miles
Success is hard work
Success is well deserved
Well earned and
Well learned
Lessons from the pain, the injuries, the detours
They all come together to yield success
Success is hard work
Success in the sport of gymnastics is earned through a similar journey as success in graduate school. Research requires long, long hours and persistence. New skills are learned along the way. Results do not always go as expected, and can cause injury to the ego. Oftentimes, the goals of the thesis must be redefined and the straight path that your proposal claimed to take ends up resembling a curve ball. But, all in all, these experiences build up to success. Long hours will yield results and results will yield publications. In the end, all of the hard work will lead you to academia's version of the Olympics' stage: your thesis defense. You may not receive a gold medal like those gymnasts, but that doctoral diploma will hold just as much pride and just as many memories of the hard journey toward success.