It's 2019, and I find myself at another inflection point in life looking for a new job. Should I stay in the same city, or move to a new one? Stay in the same field or try to pivot to a new one? Apparently, uncertainty is a common theme amongst Millennials, as this article points out, it would be helpful to have some mentoring and guidance.
In looking back at a blog that I started many years ago, I realized that I am often uncertain, and maybe it is okay and even normal for uncertainty to make a regular appearance in life.
In connecting old and new thoughts, here's a snippet that I wrote back when I was completing my PhD in 2016 and wrestling with uncertainty (of course):
I'm getting ready to submit my PhD thesis in the next five weeks. How do I feel about this? Excited, nervous, doubtful and relieved just to name a few emotions. It's been nearly four years since I started the PhD journey, and it has been filled with such a breadth of experiences that I am so grateful for. I've had the opportunity to travel around the world, meet people from vastly different backgrounds, and tackle one of the major development challenges relating to basic human needs in the WASH sector. I know that I don't really have a solution to the myriad of problems facing a vast number of people living in dire circumstances, but I can only hope that the premise of contributing to knowledge that in some small and likely indirect way leads to an improvement in the people's lives holds true.
As for my personal development, I'm not even sure where to begin to describe what I've learned from conducting my research and living in a city and country that were once foreign and have now become so familiar and beloved, yet somehow still incomprehensible. One of the big questions that has been looming over me for a while, which I'm sure most people who've ever watched The Graduate or have recently graduated or been unemployed have faced, "So what are you going to do now?"
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