Last week I submitted my thesis. This is why it has been a little quiet recently on this blog. Funny, how such a long project that I have been working on for the past 3.5 years has suddenly come to an end. For the last years I thought that the moment when I walk into the PhD office and hand over my thesis will be a glorious, joyous one, but then it was actually a bit strange, bittersweet somehow, but nevertheless a big relief. Even though the last months and weeks were pretty stressful, working on the thesis provided a structure for my days that felt good – I simply got up in the morning, did the work I had to do and it was very clear what that was. In the future, there will be a lot less structure, however, my dissertation is not completely over. I still have to defend and publish the thesis before I get my promotion next February.

Now I am in a little French village enjoying the stunning view over Nice, relaxing, disconnecting, catching up on my reading list, finding focus, and plan for the next adventures ahead. Slowly, I am getting used to this new life of mine.