Be gentle. You can be kind, caring, and helpful, but still not gentle, and people will come to you and like you, but still be afraid of you, which is hard on them. Be gentle, too.
Drop out of grad school sooner rather than later. If you don't have a clear path straight to the PhD in the next two to three years and an advisor who's getting people through that hurdle in a timely, orderly manner, the opportunity cost is too high.
Some people are okay living alone. I am not one of them. Some people are okay working in intellectual isolation. I am also not one of them.
Thinking back, I would say:
Be gentle. You can be kind, caring, and helpful, but still not gentle, and people will come to you and like you, but still be afraid of you, which is hard on them. Be gentle, too.
Drop out of grad school sooner rather than later. If you don't have a clear path straight to the PhD in the next two to three years and an advisor who's getting people through that hurdle in a timely, orderly manner, the opportunity cost is too high.
Some people are okay living alone. I am not one of them. Some people are okay working in intellectual isolation. I am also not one of them.
Thank you for your words! Great thoughts! 👍