Favorite quotes

As I limp toward the finish line of graduate school, I find solace in quotes others have written about this experience. I can relate to Gradhacker's explanation of how professors infantilize graduate students, denying our maturity and relevant previous experience so they can treat us like inept children. I can also relate to the mantra of smile and nod -- it seems to placate otherwise insecure individuals. [Though, truth be told, you have to eat your own pride in the process.] So in that vein, here are a few quotes that have cheered me up:

"The defense is the committee's last act of humiliation before they choke the graduate student at commencement with the hood."

"So long and thanks for the Ph.D.!" [Ronald Azuma's blog]

"Graduate school is like a stage 3 cancer diagnosis. You have to endure years of painful therapies (like prelims) before you graduate and go into remission. But the process of surviving changes you and leaves permanent scars." [A friend's perspective]

"I have met many a moron that had a Ph.D."

"And while it is important to be willing to learn, there is a difference between humility and humiliation." [Gradhacker blog]

-------

Ronald Azuma's blog

http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/hitch4.html

Gradhacker blog

http://www.gradhacker.org/2011/11/28/empowering/