Lessons From Adventure Time that can be helpful to graduate students

I am in the “dark ages” of my phD progress (AKA preparing for an imminent defense) soooooo……Time for a fun post!  It may become somewhat apparent that one of my favorite shows is Adventure Time.  I love the zany characters, colorful settings, and absurd and situations set up in this show.  I definitely relate to Jake;  lazy and unmotivated at times but when the moment comes he pulls himself together and really comes through for himself and his loved ones.

There are also good nuggets of advice and pearls of wisdom dropped in dialogue in the show.  There is actually a lot of smart writing!!  I think many of them can apply to the graduate school experience.

 Here are some that I think are especially relevant and why:

 

” Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sort of good at something”

Ah yes.  I honestly think this is not appreciated enough, especially by graduate students.  Most of us are used to having things come easy…and then GRAD SCHOOL happens.  You will find that you SUCK at many things and you may avoid them for that reason.  Take the opportunity to accumulate and develop as many skills as possible which will make your research stronger, your work more effective, and open up many doors for you.

“Hey, its okay. People make mistakes.  It’s all part of growing up and you never really stop growing.”

You are still in school for a reason.  It takes a lot of personal and professional growth to be worthy of holding that degree in your hand.  You will make many. many. many mistakes.  And it’s really OKAY…as long as you learn from them.  However, once you have that degree the journey does not end there.  You will have to keep stumbling, learning, and developing as a scientist throughout your career.

“When bad things happen I know you want to believe they are a joke.  But sometimes, life is scary and dark.  That is why we must find the light.”

This has got to be one of the most casually placed but beautiful quotes from the show.  It is especially relevant to my experiences the last several years.  Bad things are likely to happen while you are graduate school.  You have to deal with coursework, peers, advisers, committee members, undergraduates, administration, funding, etc…and of course your research.  Additionally, life will continue and also throw curve balls in your way.  However, if you hang in there, take it one day at a time, and do your best to keep a positive attitude, eventually you will find “the light”.

“Homies help homies, always”

You are not in this alone.  Help others a long the way and most importantly, know when to ask for help.  A good friend and/or colleague can go a long way in helping you succeed. I cannot stress this enough.

“I’m just thinking about the future, I guess.  We’re on, like, the leading edge of history.  Everything ahead of us is totally unknown and there’s no guarantee that everything’s going to be alright.  It’s exciting, but also pretty scary, y’know.”

Oh, the feelings experienced by all of us.  The lack of stability makes graduate work and subsequent steps in your career really scary.  But remember on the upside, you will have many opportunities to shape your career, add to a growing field of knowledge,  and pursue what really excites you!

Heh well, not really advice but definitely relevant to the graduate student variety.  Especially when free food is involved.

Have a mathematical week!

-Rocio

Tagged: adventure time, graduate school, phD

Posted in: For Fun, The PhD Experience