I was surprised, enthralled and awe-struck, all at the same time, when I first heard a friend asking me about my bucket list. I was confused, thinking I was missing something important in life which has a lot to do with my existence on this earth.
After asking her to explain the idea of a bucket list, it sounded to me like a very elitist way of looking into the whims and fancies of life. It was when I could recall the hashtags on social media that I was reminded of this bucket list.
I could not bring myself to think what a waste my life was. When people were busy ticking off their ‘done’ lists, I was struggling to make my own. A thought that struck me like a thunderbolt was: yes, I do have a bucket list. That was the moment when I felt that being a doctoral student, I too have a right to enjoy and explore. The only thing that made my bucket list way different from those around me was that it solely revolved around my PhD.
It might sound amusing and non-serious, but let me assure you this bucket list is not easy to tick off. It has some goals which might not be achievable altogether, which we doctoral students may put off to before-I-die times, yet we try our best to fit the social buzz created around this bucket list.
I think our bucket list starts with choosing a topic that we can easily work on, yet it should look like a title oozing with intellectual glamour. Trust me, it takes some time to polish it off well so that it sounds presentable and soothing to the cerebrum.
Getting the necessary permissions from the agencies we want to work with is another mammoth task, which those hovering on social media with their selfies as a proof of achieving their bucket list goals cannot understand. I wish we were allowed to take selfies while getting consent for our relevant studies; we would have created a revolution on social media.
Just when we start thinking that our doctoral work is going smoothly, a cruel and wicked thought of entering some more dreams in the list strikes us. It is the list of publications of our work and the associated struggle to achieve it. We Indians are usually obsessed with going international and getting that mark of glory on our work, yet during our doctoral career we aim to get one or two decent publications in local research journals. Some of us hold on to the dream of going international, only to wait a year getting an email rebuking you over your not-so-international capacities and capabilities.
The tandem of a PhD and its bucket list do not end here. The biggest and the most important of them all comes to getting our writing approved by our supervisors. This part of the list is in bold letters because if this does not go well, the rest of the list faces a collapse; its structure doesn’t stay strong and smooth anymore.
Not to forget the hidden costs of a PhD during our stay in hostels or rented accommodation. Good food and a congenial work environment are our food goals and work goals, which add to our already burdened list.
It may sound absurd and an insult to the very idea of a bucket list, but trust me, these items feature with repetitions and varied forms during the course of arriving at the final item of this checklist — which reads: ‘Finishing the PhD’.
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