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An open letter to my 35th year on Earth
by Yona MaríaDear 35, Sorry I didn’t get you this letter last night. You don’t deserve being put in a corner after all you’ve done for me! But, as you well know, my life currently belongs to the dissertation gods… so I’ll have to keep it short and sweet this year. All my writing reserves must be fully devoted to dissertating. Let’s cut to the chase:...
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No pudo con el empuje
by Yona MaríaIt’s been quite some time since I last sat down to write anything that isn’t related to my dissertation, but today cannot go unnoticed. I write this in English to make sure anyone outside of Puerto Rico is able to comprehend the magnitude of what just happened last night, when our EX-governor resigned (porque no pudo con el empuje!). Last night was a historic...
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An open letter to my 34th year on Earth
by Yona MaríaDear 34, I didn’t think I would be writing one of these again… But, it appears to have worked well last year, so I’m making it a thing. First things first: you, my dear friend, have been a pleasant surprise. After the clusterfuck that was 33, I wasn’t expecting much. Still, I leapt into your arms with pizzazz at midnight 365 days ago, and...
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The beauty of connecting
by Yona MaríaRelationships. They can make us, and they can break us. I find this is particularly true during phases of uncertainty and personal growth. These phases tend to bring self-doubt, internal monologues that challenge you at your core, and just general growing pains. So, the relationships you choose to foster during these moments are pivotal. I have recently been experiencing one of these moments of...
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What I’ve learned from my 10-day social media hiatus…
by Yona MaríaI tried. I really did! I told myself I needed a social media hiatus (specifically, a Facebook and Instagram detox) for a myriad of reasons. It’s too distracting. It eats up too much of my time – time better spent writing, reading, creating, class prepping, meditating, any-other-ing but social media-ing. It sometimes makes me anxious, upset, and fidgety. It makes me prone to oversharing...
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Summer 2018
by Yona MaríaAs you already know, this summer was a whirlwind. Last I wrote, I was wrapping up my first wave of dissertation research in Tampa, and right about to head out to England for a two-week summer program at Oxford University. Needless to say, it was amazing. But the summer didn’t end there – it was followed by a three-week trip around the UK and...
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Navigating that #phdlife: Dissertation Diaries
by Yona MaríaLet the dissertation games begin! When I first envisioned this series of essays about the PhD experience, I thought I would write about them chronologically… how to apply, what to expect, how to pick your mentors/advisors, how to manage the first few years versus the latter portion of the doctorate trajectory. However, I’m currently smack in the middle of collecting data for my dissertation…...
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Cuatro mil seiscientos cuarenta y cinco…
by Yona MaríaEl pasado martes, 29 de mayo, el New England Journal of Medicine publicó un estudio conducido por investigadores de Harvard University, donde se estiman 4,645 muertes relacionadas al paso del huracán María en Puerto Rico. He leído varios comentarios del público relacionado al estudio, algunos de los cuales cuestionan la veracidad de estos números, mientras que otros solo se enfocan en esta parte de...
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Back at it
by Yona MaríaA lot can happen in a month. When I started this very young blog back in the cold, snowy month of March (which feels like eons ago), I thought I would be able to write at least once a week. I figured it would be a way to channel my thoughts and process my emotions as life happens. However, the past five weeks have been pretty...
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Navigating that #phdlife: Why do you want a PhD?
by Yona MaríaThree simple letters with so much meaning. A terminal degree. Subject matter expertise. Street cred. The pinnacle of your academic training. For me, it’s the ability to finally become an academic researcher and a professor. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to teach, mentor and explore new ideas. I was an extremely...