How to begin your search for the perfect graduate program

When I was considering applying to graduate school, one of the more phrases I was told was "do your research".  I struggled a lot with this statement because I was not sure what I should be looking for. Thinking back to that period inspired me to write about some strategies I acquired and used in...

Strategies to Strengthen the Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose is a key element in almost every graduate application process. It is sometimes referred to as the Application Essay, Objectives for Graduate Study and Personal Background/Statement. This essay allows the applicant to weave in his/her personality into the application process. Graduate school is very much a matching process. The act of...

GRE Unboxed II : How I improved my Verbal score by ten point in one month

I decided to delve into some of my recommendations for improving the GRE  Verbal section because I noticed that this was the section that most African students I have worked with in the past, myself included struggled most with this section.

Do I really belong? How I deal with Impostor Syndrome in Graduate School.

Do I really belong? How I deal with Impostor Syndrome

Words wither,

moments evade, time decays, breaths fail. And still we are. Remembering ever so often our Humanity.

Pieces of my soul, scattered across the Space-Time-Energy continuum. Expanding, Traversing , Seeking. Fragments of my Heart diligently carried on, by these messengers pursuing their journeys, Never Ceasing, beyond realms, and beyond earthly energies.

Unfiltered II

Because I know, no, we know that I never stood a chance. I was ambivalent, then curious, and then sad and always sad. But then one day I was happy. I should have known it was a lie. I always had to try. Because in our world even the privilege of a closed door, brutally...

Unfiltered I

Am I rational, I miss you so much. Or maybe I miss the idea of you. But did I ever really know you ? Or did I imagine you? All those hours spent studying you may have just conjured a persona, the you I always miss .

Infant eyes enamored

by the adults' victorious stance, their seeming indomitability Adolescent minds seeing through their confidence, boring holes at their resolve, Wishing themselves mightier than the others. Aging Souls, laughing, then crying and then laughing some more at their foolish past. Wishing they had never thought so highly of them, wallowing a little too long in the...

Chants, Hymns, Prayers I want to feel, Clamor, Noises, Sounds I think to see, Aromas, Fragrances, Scents I hope to taste Associations, Connections, Contact I can only breathe in. Life the only way I want, The only way I know

The words stopped to echo And My heart beat stilled. The clamors ceased And the sound settled. Only then did silence become my redemption

That time I said I was fine I lied... You hear me ? I said I lied Because I always do Lie ... I mean that's the only way I know, The only trick I learnt. But don't you worry Because now I am fine. I learnt how with time. Or maybe it's once again...

I grabbed a grin in the middle of a parc surrounded by trees and sound and light and more than a few crawling creatures. Who would have thought? That I would find my smile once again as I walked my own path.  

Five skills I acquired since starting graduate school

Reading complete chapters in multiple textbooks and complex papers has become a regular exercise. Optimising almost every detail of my life to ensure that I am always in "ON" mode. And by "ON" mode, I mean the ability to find the most convoluted way of talking about my research. Thinking about the things that I...