Slowly I Persist
- SJ Williamson
- Jan 11
- 2 min read
I originally created this blog in 2024 with my ideas to share with my community, family, friends, and colleagues. Around the same time, I started writing for the NDSU Spectrum opinions section. I'm a creator and a writer. Teaching and scholarship is often not enough for me. That's why I found new outlets to share my voice through.
Fall 2025 was particularly rough on me. I had a severe infection in August and a surgery that followed while I prepared to teach a new online course with upperclassman engineering students. I was also finishing data collection for my dissertation research. And a book chapter on graduate student mental health. And a journal article on AI use and emotions. And another book chapter on slow work in graduate school. And job market materials... you get the point.
So I took a step back from some areas that overwhelmed me. I continued writing for The Spectrum for the supplemental income. I was patient with my new students, giving them more breaks than I normally would have for an upper-division course. I took time at home to recover from my surgery for almost a month. I made less blog posts during all the chaos that overwhelmed me. This is how life goes when you're a chronically ill PhD candidate and writing instructor.
I decided to take more steps back this spring as I prepare to graduate. I know making my course shells and content accessible while keeping up with grading was taking up excessive amounts of time I don't always get fully reimbursed for as a teacher, so I decided not to teach this spring. Instead, I'll be doing some qualitative research, one of my personal favorite types of work, to make enough cash to survive. I'm dedicating the rest of my time to my dissertation chapters first, then other duties second (conferences, publishing, job searches, etc.).
However, I am hoping to have more time to blog this year as well. I have had a lot to reflect on as it is my last year in my PhD program and I plan to enter the job field (academic or alt-ac, I am unsure of just yet as I wait to hear back from the hundreds of places I applied at). As a lot of y'all know, I am the first in my family to go to graduate school and become a PhD. I think maybe I'll do more blogs sharing what the experience is like for those who have no idea what I do and the struggles I encounter.
Long story short, I'm taking things slowly... and I still persist. Sorry if that feels like I'm becoming a recluse; I'm good at that when research allows me to.
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