Apr 26, 2012

Dr. Sparks

I passed!!

Even though I've never heard of somebody failing their PhD Defense I still woke up to some serious butterflies in my stomach this morning. My mind flew back to when I was a 7 or 8 yr old kid playing baseball. I was a horrible player and one day the other team's pitcher was wild! He was beaning players left and right. I was up on deck to bat next and the kid right in front of me took a fastball right to the face. I still remember the blood exploding everywhere, it was horrifying! They had to take the kid to the hospital and everything. Next thing I know my coach tells me "you're up sparks." I was so scared! I totally lied and said I had to go to the bathroom and I stayed in there for like 10 minutes shaking with fear. Eventually I had to come out and when I went up to bat I stood like 5 feet from the baseball plate and just watched those strikes zoom by.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel a little bit like pretending to go to the bathroom and making a run for it as my Defense was about to start. But I survived and I was so nervous I got to talking wicked fast- I finished in 30 minutes! That's gotta be a record.

Now all I have to do is wait until May 24th when I graduate. It's been an incredible 5 years. I'm gonna miss grad school a little bit. Not the homework, bad pay, or middle of the night trips to turn off the laser, but I've met some amazing people, made great friends, grown incredibly, gained so much confidence and seen some amazing parts of the world.

I can't wait to see where we end up next.

PS- I could NOT have done it without Jodi's love and support. Janae is right, she totally earned this every bit as much as I did. She helped take care of Atticus, moved across the country, went to bed alone while I worked on homework, did the lion's share of the work around the house, and sacrificed many of her own dreams and aspirations so that I could achieve mine.

14 comments:

  1. Paging Dr. Sparks, paging Dr. Sparks!! Congrats!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AHHH! I'm so happy for you! Post Doc here we come!

    Or maybe "Post Doc- you come here to SB!" You can live in FSH and I'll be your RC and the boys will become BFFs and we'll all live happily ever after.

    Just a thought.

    Congrats Doctor Sparks

    jj

    ReplyDelete
  3. AND congrats Jodi. Your earned this just as much as he did!

    jj

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats to both of you! What a feat! Now what is going to happen? What do you do now??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congrats you guys!! Now it's back to UTAH!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great job, Taylor and Jodi! Looking forward to hearing what big adventure is next.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats, you guys!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Way to go Dr. Sparks! Pretty fantastic feeling, right? (and did you use any lines from the list? glad you didn't explode or implode)

    ReplyDelete
  9. YAY! good job! can't wait to see you guys this summer!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I keep thinking of your dad. He would be sooo proud and be on the phone to us bragging about his Taylor. We are proud of you and wish you the best on your next adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congratulations on piling it high and deep to the end. May you have great sucess finding your next uber-liberal place to live and work, Professor.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congrats! Congrats! That's awesome! If you land in Utah next give us a call.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congratulations!! Your post script was very touching, too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanx for sharing such great information...........

    www.vishvabhraman.com

    ReplyDelete