So my “short break” ended up being quite a bit longer than expected. (Whoops)
The truth is that this PhD has knocked me around more than I expected. The last few months of 2014 were stressful and exhausting for me. But it is a new year and I couldn’t be more excited. Everything feels fresh and hopeful. Today I start my new job as an Associate Lecturer in law at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). I’m still finishing off my PhD (though I am so close to the end), which means that my days will be busy for a few months yet. But they say that change is as good as a holiday and I think that my work in 2015 will be more interesting than it has felt in a while. I will be teaching Intellectual Property Law at QUT, which means that I will be diving deep into the very topic that I write about on this blog. Teaching students, seeing how they interact with the content and guiding them through difficult areas – well, I am sure that this will give me even more ideas of things to share with you here.
One of my Core Desired Feelings for 2015 is ‘Inspired’, and I’m committed to following my curiosity this year. Much of my work in 2014 was driven by a sense of striving – of needing to finish what I started, of not letting people down, of pushing through resistance and fear. It’s tiring, that external kind of motivation. It left me drained. I want this year to be different. I want to read and research and write and teach and blog because I feel inspired to do so. Because it’s stimulating and because I enjoy the discovering and the unravelling. I am committed to bringing you new content this year that is engaging, thought-provoking, relevant to your needs and as fun as I can make the law. I have some ideas and some collaborations brewing already; I think you won’t be disappointed.
‘Thank you‘ by Jen Collins, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
Finally, I want to say THANK YOU. Thank you to you for reading my blog and for being so patient while I took my hiatus. Knowing you are there makes all the difference. And thank you to my online soul sisters (you know who you are) for supporting and encouraging me through some of the tough times, and for lifting me up every time I see you. Your friendship is radiant.
Happy 2015! (Pssst – new legal content tomorrow!)