The Fresh Air of Freedom

It's been a long journey to the fresh air of freedom, but I am delighted to be able to tell you that I passed my PhD viva this week!  I am now Dr. Sarah!!





The viva is an oral exam, where your thesis is scrutinised and you have to 'defend' it.  Here in the UK it's not a public event.  I had two external examiners, who travelled from London and Norway respectively, and a chair person.  Some friends have told me that they 'enjoyed' their viva - I wouldn't go that far!  It was two and a half hours of solid questioning, and very much like a formal job interview.  The examiners were both lovely, very calm and thoughtful, which did help to keep a lid on my nerves.  I still found it very intensive, and it was very much a 'performance'.  Exhausting!  It's not completely over - I passed with minor corrections (only 5% of PhDs here in the UK are passed with no corrections at all), so I have a few weeks to make those.  The graduation ceremony itself won't be until the summer (thank goodness, I haven't picked my outfit yet!).

I took the rest of the week off work, to help catch my breath.  I met up with my husband and a few friends on the day of the viva to celebrate with as much food and wine as possible.  Otherwise, I've been enjoying having free time to potter in the garden and around the house. 

These photos are from yesterday in the Brecon Beacons.  We met up with my parents for a pub lunch, which then needed walking off.  There's a sweeping lookout point on the drive down to the village, so Chris and I stopped on the way back up to enjoy the scenery.  It was bitterly cold, so it was rather a brisk walk, and we didn't make a purchase from the ice-cream van in the car park.  I was dressed for the country, in my man's Harris Tweed jacket, jeans and boots - trying to feel more down to earth after all the excitement.  Writing my thesis kept me indoors much more than I liked, so it has been lovely to get outside again and not feel guilty about it with that "should be doing my PhD" thought popping up in my head.

 

Wearing: Bernie Dexter jeans, Wrangler boots from car boot sale, men's Harris Tweed jacket from charity shop, Jaxton cap, vintage bag from charity shop.

So what next?  Well, it's not total freedom, as I still have a job.  I'm already working in my field (psychology) and my current role is a large research project that is certainly going to keep me busy for the coming months.  I'm not going to rush to fill my free time just yet.  It's nice sometimes to enjoy a slower pace.  I think you'll find me in my garden, on the hillsides, or at my sewing machine for the foreseeable future.

Linking up with: #iwillwearwhatilike, Visible Monday, Fancy Friday