Introduction

Hello and welcome to "Becoming Dr. Doughty," the blog where I will chronicle my experience pursuing, and hopefully obtaining a PhD. If you don't know me, here is a little bit of background: My name is Kim, I'm 24 years old and starting a PhD program in nutrition at UMASS Amherst. I am married and just bought a house in New Haven, CT, and yes, I'm commuting an hour and 45 minutes each way to school. I have been married for 3 years (since I was 21). The last 2 statements alone should tell you that I am clearly an anomaly (i.e. out of my mind). I have a Bachelor's degree in nutrition and just finished (sort of.. that's another story altogether) a Master's program in public health.

In less than one week, I will enter my 19th year of formal education and attend my first class as a doctoral student. I will also be a teaching assistant (TA) at UMASS, leading 2 discussion groups for a basic nutrition class comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores who, based on the reports of other TAs, have entered legal adulthood without ever having become even minimally self-reliant. I will also be working very part-time as a research assistant at a research center where I've been employed for the past 2 years. Unfortunately, neither of these jobs pays well and so it remains to be seen whether this new mortgage payment will be the financial death of my husband and me or not.

And so this is an exciting yet terrifying time of my life. I hope my account of this experience can be an inspiration, or more likely a cautionary tale, for others considering this path.