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After Graduating with a PhD
One of the best days of my life (so far) was May 4th, 2023. That was the date where I walked on to the stage, with my adviser, and was officially named, Dr. Ben! Wow, what a moment that was and what an awesome day. I had been waiting for years, and working pretty darn…
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The Challenges of Grad School No One Talks About
Today is going to be a bit of a sad post. Not because I want it to be, but because I am going to cover some topics that students face that aren’t really fun. I want to talk about a few challenges of grad school that we all experience that are just a bit hard…
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Am I Working Hard Enough in Grad School?
One of the worst feelings is coming home at the end of the day and feeling as if you didn’t do enough that day. Grad school is notorious for making you feel like you haven’t done enough work for the day. Well, I am here today to tell you that you have done enough work…
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Writing My Thesis and Life Updates
Hello everyone. I know, I haven’t posted in like 2 week and I am extremely sorry for that. Three months from now, I’ll have to submit my first draft of my thesis, so I have been busy writing it already. many people take much longer and I have known people to start and finish theirs…
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Nervous About Starting Grad School
Grad school is an amazing experience. That’s all I really want you to know in this post. I have had a wonderful time throughout my 5 and a half years as a graduate student, but starting off was nerve wracking. Being nervous about starting grad school is completely normal. Here is a secret that no…
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Does Grad School Get Any Easier?
I am currently sitting at an airport, writing this post. I am in Arkansas for a wedding and my girlfriend and I are on our way back to FLorida. Our flight was delayed by 4 hours so far due to weather, so I figured it was a great time to write a post. Todays topic…
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Life in Grad School
If you are a follower of this blog, you can pretty much see how life is for me while in grad school. Life in grad school has been a wonderful combination of ups, downs, twists, turns, and backtracks. Yes, it has been quite the journey and this is fairly similar to other’s who has joined…
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More Graduate School Memes
In grad school, things can be quite tough. One way to overcome the sadness and stress of grad school is with more graduate school memes! In fact, today, I have quite a few graduate school memes for you to look through. Hopefully they give you some hope to finish your program and make the most…
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Being a Broke Grad Student: It’s Not That Bad!
Today was one of those days where the universe reminded me that I am a broke grad student. I went to the grocery store today to get stuff to make ramen. Yes, I fit the stereotype and eat ramen in grad school. So, I don’t just get ramen, I get peppers, garlic, bok choy, and…
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Apply For Jobs For After Grad School
I have been actively looking for jobs after grad school for the past month. I graduate in almost 7 months to the day, so I figured I would try my luck at job hunting. Man, has it been quite the journey so far. I have had quite a few interviews so far and I almost…
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Grad School Mental Breakdown
Today I am going to cover a very tough subject and that is grad school mental breakdowns. Everyone that I know has their own story. I have a few stories and I will share one with you. Having a mental breakdown in grad school, let alone life, is a fairly common occurrence. Life is not…
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Dating a Law Student
Ah, the wonderful years of dating grad students lol. If you haven’t experienced it, you’re truly missing out. Grad school is intense and sdating is one of these things that can be quite tricky when you are in grad school. I have written about dating in grad school. You can check that blog post out…
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Best Advice for PhD Students in 2026
Today, I want to discuss some helpful advice for PhD students that are starting soon. A PhD is a long journey and I am sure there are a million questions that you might have. I am here to address a few of those as well as answer any more that you might have. Instead of…
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Having a Roommate in Grad School
So a major part of grad school mindfulness and having a good experience might come from the topic that we have today. Having a roommate in grad school can be a really good experience or you might absolutely hate it. There is an in between as well so it’s not always a love or hate…
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Anxiety in College Will Come Back, Be Ready
This post about anxiety in college may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Quite a title, isn’t it? Yesterday, I was reminded about something that I thought was over with. My anxiety flared up big time and so did the loneliness that I felt prior to going to therapy. Now,…
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Best Gifts For Graduates and Graduation
This post about gifts for college graduates may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page If you are stumbling upon this post, it probably means that you are looking for some gift ideas for your graduate. Gradation is an exciting time and a bit stressful because you want to get them…
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Is Getting a Pet in Grad School a Good Idea?
So you just started grad school and you want to get a pet. Maybe you have been in grad school for a while and just want a furry companion to stay up with you as you spend hours writing away. Whatever the reason, you are looking to the internet to see if it is a…
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Dating in Grad School
I am quite surprised that I have not covered this topic much sooner. This is a huge subject that hopefully I will be able to do justice. Dating in grad school can be a wonderful, difficult, frustrating, exciting, and overall fun experience. Yes, it will require a ton of work, and some patience, but it…
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Should You Do An Internship in Grad School?
It’s internship and job hunting season. I bet you didn’t know there was such as thing. Well in college, there is lol. It usually occurs right after career showcases happen, usually February. Summer is the most popular time to do an internship, so people are trying to secure one before they go on break. Obtaining…
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Please Be Kind To Yourself
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page I have noticed many new students beating themselves up because they don’t understand something or they are having a hard time with experiments. Honest, this really upsets me. I know how hard one can be to themself. I was that individual…
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More of My Favorite Quotes
I wrote a few months ago, a blog about my top 10 favorite quotes. Since then, I have read and heard many more quotes that I want to share with you today. If you want to check out my last blog, here is the link to that page. I figured that motivation might not be…
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Surround Yourself With Success
I have met a ton of people in my life. I have made friendships and have ended friendships. And if you are anything like me, or like literally every other person, you have probably done the same. For me, I have gotten to a stage in my life where I am focusing on quality over…
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How Do Grad Students Afford Rent?
This post contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Affordable housing seems to be going away quicker than the money in my bank account. I have noticed that a plethora of apartments have been going up around the campus, yet nothing that is in a reasonable price range. They…
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My Cat Won’t Let Me Work
This post contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Today is going to be a slower day of work! Thank goodness for the holiday season because nothing gets done and that is totally fine. There are a few things that I need to do, but for the most part,…
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Make Your Own Adventure
This post contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Life is one crazy ride. Think about it. You literally wake up on a planet, hurling through the universe at extremum speeds. You wake up to sunshine, water, animals, television, and literally an infinite amount of other crazy things that…
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Shopping on a Grad School Budget
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Thanksgiving is usually the beginning of the Holiday season. Some people would argue that Halloween is but they are wrong :p. It is going to get busy for everyone in grad school here on out. You are probably neck…
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Be Thankful Everyday
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Thanksgiving is here. Honestly, it seemed like last Thanksgiving happened a few weeks ago. These years sure fly by. Today, we give thanks for all that we have in our lives, and launch off model rockets lol. I just…
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Maybe Stay Off Social Media
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Yesterday, while walking on the treadmill at the gym, a YouTube video popped up talking about a “dopamine detox”. I could kind of guess what that was based on the name but I was curious as to what it…
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Winter Weather and Lack of Motivation
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page I’m starting to think that I write way too much about having a lack of motivation. Honestly, this is such a common occurrence in my life that I can’t help but talk about it. I am quite sure that…
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Panic in Grad School
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page This morning, I woke up around 4 am to a panic attack. These happen every once in a while, so I’m usually well prepared. Usually, what sets them off, are just random little things. Things such as not being…
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Everyone Gets Nervous
I was going to write a different blog post today, but I think this is an important one to write today. I had a pretty big meeting today with everyone on my research project. They told us that it was “informal” yet everyone had pretty pre-rehearsed presentations and pretty well put together slides. I had…
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Do One Thing That Scares You
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Lately, I have been really trying to find ways to be a productive as I can. For about a month, I was just running on fumes practically and going with the flow. My motivation to really do anything was…
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100 Things to Be Grateful For
This post may contains affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page The title says it all. There are many things to be grateful for and here are 100 of them. This very post will be my lucky 100th blog post. Well, technically yesterdays post was, but I deleted a blog…
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Financial Stress in Grad School
I wanted to write about something that is hitting hard for quite a few of us lately, financial stress. That is the stress of being poor in grad school. I have written about dealing with finances in grad school before and how to reduce spending (link here)(here‘s another great resource). This blog is about dealing…
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Wood Carving Reduced My Anxiety
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page I took up wood carving when the pandemic first started last year. While most people were enjoying making bread in their new bread maker, I was learning how to hold a knife and not cut myself (spoiler alert: I…
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New Beginnings: Moving in Grad School
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page I just wanted to post a blog about the new stuff that is happening in my life and how I am reacting to these changes. Many grad students will be going through some really crazy changes right now such…
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Blogging to Help With Mental Health
Today is an important day for me. Today, I will have written 50 blog posts. That may not seem like many, but trust me, it’s a ton for someone like me. I started writing blogs as a form of outlet, almost like journaling. My anxiety was creeping back, even though I had a significant arsenal…
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Habits of a Successful Graduate Student
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Surviving grad school can be a tricky thing to do. You will be faced with a significant amount of road blocks in the 2-8 years that you are in school for. Some of these roadblocks are easy to traverse…
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Learning to Meditate in Grad School. A Guide for Beginners
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page So you are stress beyond belief in your studies and you need a way to relax. I guarantee that someone that has noticed your stress has said that you need to exercise and meditate. There’s good reason to bring…
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Best Purchases for Your Cat
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page Making decisions in the moment can be super stressful and down right anxiety inducing. One of the “spur-of-the-moment” things that I did 2 years ago was adopt my cat, Sirius. It amazes me how, at the time, well a…
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How I Prevent Panic Attacks
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page One thing that I, unfortunately, deal with are panic attacks. I can remember my very first one which caused a whole progression of events that led to about 6 months of depression. That panic attack was brought on by…
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Relaxation: The First Step to a Reduction of Anxiety
One of the most important things that I learned while getting therapy was to take time to relax. This can be 10 minutes a day or a whole week, like what I am doing now. Take moments tp just be in the moment and not think about everything else that is going on in your…
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Grad School Stress: How to Relieve it?
This post about relieving grad school stress may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page I wouldn’t write this blog unless I was in a stressful situation. I have quite a few things going on in my life so I thought I would share what I do to reduce the stress…
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Financial Stress in Grad School
This post about financial stress in grad school may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page So you want to go to grad school or you are already there. That’s amazing and I hope that you have an amazing journey! If you are in grad school currently, you know what being…
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How to Make Friends in Grad School
“How the heck does everyone around me have a million friends?” I see it all of the time in school. Literally pods of students all together, seemingly having a great time with their friends. In undergrad, I wanted that so much. In grad school, I just want to be able to talk with a few…
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How to Deal With Failure in Grad School
I want to start off this blog telling you that I do not believe that there is such thing as failure when you have tried to do something. True failure in grad school comes from not even trying in the first place due to fear of not getting the result you want. People that tell…
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Why Everyone Needs Therapy
As you may have guessed, I suffer from a few different mental issues that are only worsened by my graduate studies. I have learned to cope with these feeling and have completely accepted that they are a part of who I am. I have come to peace with my anxiety and depression and have learned…
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Grad School: Hurricanes and Deadlines
Ah, Florida summers! They are filled with pool parties, late summer outings, fun with friends, and lots and lots of time to relax…unless you are in grad school. I am not saying we don’t have fun. Heck, I have a ton of fun until I am given a task that involves me shifting into overdrive…
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Writing Your Literature Review
I think one of the most stressful portions of grad school is writing academic papers. You want perfection when all you hear from everyone is “just get it done, it doesn’t have to be perfect.” I hated hearing this because I wanted all of my papers to be perfect., but what even is perfection? That…
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Writing and Publishing a Literature Review: Grad School Stress
I think one of the most stressful portions of grad school is writing academic papers. You want perfection when all you hear from everyone is “just get it done, it doesn’t have to be perfect.” I hated hearing this because I wanted all of my papers to be perfect., but what even is perfection? That…
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How To Handle Anxiety in Grad School
This post about anxiety in grad school may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page I used to have to see a therapist because my anxiety was getting way too bad. Fortunately, my health insurance covered the use of Talkspace for no additional cost, and I took full advantage of that.…
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Why I started a Blog
So you might be wondering, “Ben, you are a scientist, not a writer! Why are you blogging?” I’ll tell you why. I am currently in my last year as a grad student and writing has become such an important part of my day that I almost consider myself a writer and not a scientist. I…