Today marks the end in my fifth term of the PhD Education program at the University of Guadalajara. It’s been a long and arduous journey. The more I read, the less I think I know. The more I research, the more questions I have. I hadn’t realized how much I had to give up to follow this educational journey. I can’t less but admire those who precede me.
As I was growing up I saw my Dad studying. As a matter of fact, he asked me many times to read his medical books, so that I could improve my reading skills. For years now, I’ve seen my husband who is a DevOps Engineer studying a lot. I taught our son how to read and write and English as a second language. Once he was old enough to learn about software engineering, my husband taught him how to become one. He is a recent university graduate, with a full time job, and now I’ve seen studying as well. So, I believe learning is a habit that has to be taught. It has to be modelled to be imitated. We need someone to guide us on how to learn best.
It’s difficult for me to learn, I have to study a lot, but if there’s something I’ve learned through the years is to be persistent. I won’t quit. I won’t give up. I will finish what I start. Learning and studying is hard, you have to give up many things in order for you to succeed. I’d like to think it is a pleasure of the many and not the few.
As I close this learning chapter in my life, I reflect and think, I couldn’t have done it alone. My husband and son have been with me all the way. My family has encouraged me, and my friends have supported me and helped me to continue. It almost feels like a team effort, even though I know that loneliness has also been there. Reading, studying, and writing have to be done by me and me alone, and for that I am grateful.
This is not the end though, I still have two more terms and a dissertation paper to finish.