This is what I wrote as the Acknowledgement for my recently submitted Ph.D. thesis.
When I first started my Ph.D., I only have a vague idea of what research is about. What was driving me is that I was keen to learn more about the brains, in particular human brains. What constitutes our consciousness? Does free will exist? Why and how does humanity arise from this intricate piece of machine made of 86 billion neurons? What characterises individual brains that make each of us unique? Why do we sleep and dream? What happens to the brain when we suffer from mental illnesses?… I had many more questions like this, and four years after, I am not sure if I can answer any of them with full confidence. The exercise of scientific research makes one humble, and more so if the subject of study involves the human brain; the more I learn about the brain, the more mysterious I find the brain is.
Enough about the brain musings. Actual day-to-day research work was not exactly like what I initially pictured. Instead of daydreaming about the fundamental or philosophical questions about our brains, I had a hard time crunching the complex neuroimaging data; getting used to the data analytical tools; reading, writing, and solving problems with advanced mathematics; learning to frame and approach a meaningful and well-situated research question. I had little research experience before I joined our lab, and I would like to thank my Ph.D. advisor Thomas for always being there for me whenever I approached him for help. His cheerful spirit and genuine care for the student made our lab a big, happy family. His rigorous thinking and strong work ethic made our lab one of the most productive and reputable in the field. I feel very lucky to have been able to work with him during the past four years.
My coworkers are also indispensable for my Ph.D. career. Ruby has been everyone’s go-to person when we’ve got research or technical questions and she has always been the most patient mentor to us. Leon was admitted to graduate school in the same batch as me, we helped each other along during our ups and downs, and I am grateful for having him as one of my best buddies in the lab. Shaoshi and I shared many interesting lunch chats about art, books, films, TV shows, anime, and video games, and I am very happy to have such a friend in the lab with whom I can take my mind off the hardship of research from time to time. Yan Quan is the snack hoarder in our lab, you can always snatch a candy or a bar of Snickers from him, and he also introduced me to the wonderful world of rock climbing, it had since then become one of my greatest hobbies. Csaba is the one with a bucket of (sometimes) funny jokes and his enthusiasm for neuroscience has always impressed and inspired me. Lijun is one of the most hard-working people in our lab and we often have a secret competition about who comes first into the lab in the morning. Aihuiping has a very strong work ethic and under her supervision, we know that our GitHub repository is in very good hands. I would also like to thank Trevor, Zhang Chen, Tianchu, Naren, Xingyu, Sina, and Yapei, as well as our previous lab members Jianzhong, Yang Qing, Xiaolu, Heidi, Kim-Ngan, Valeria, Angela, Xuan Kai, Jingwei, and Nanbo for the good times we shared and the research advice they offered. Especially, I am grateful that I also shared the most beautiful friendships with our previous lab visitors, Siqi, Nevena, and Mengyun. I wish all of them well in their future endeavors.
Apart from my advisor and my lab mates, there are many other significant people in my life that I would like to acknowledge. Chenmu has been my dearest friend and held my hand through many hardships, whether in research or life. We shared the most wonderful trips, collaborated on many artworks, and raised two kitties together. His company has truly enriched my PhD career. Yifan and I shared many long lunches venting about our research woes, critiquing recent trends in fashion, and exchanging the most authentic views on our lives. I have always appreciated her genuine opinions and advice. Zijiao and Xiao Yu from “next door” shared a lovely apartment with two beautiful cats and I never left their place without a heart full of love and warmth, and my clothes and nostrils covered in cat furs. Siyao and Heyang are my good old friends who had always been there for me, our shared passion for cooking and life bonded us together, and they are close like family. Zoe and I do not meet very often, but whenever we do, I feel like we can talk on and on until the end of the world. Xinyao is one of the best storytellers that I know of, I just love discussing fictions with her. We also enjoyed playing indie video games together a lot. Yize and I exchange books very often and we are happy to have been each other’s inspirations throughout the years.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents for their enduring love, support, and faith in me, without whom I couldn’t have become me.
Apart from completing my Ph.D., I have accomplished many other things during the past four years. I developed a few new hobbies: rock climbing, surfing, birding, video editing, making pottery, playing the piano; I continued to enjoy my old hobbies: painting, baking, photography, scuba diving, reading all sorts of books, making connections with all sorts of interesting people; I learned to drive a car; I started to keep pets, and Ginger and Coco had been the most wonderful cats each in their own ways; I started to travel again since after the pandemic has eased, and had so much fun discovering new corners of the world, with the realisation that being always on the move really helps to open up my mind. I attended two academic conferences and had the most wonderful time exchanging research ideas and exploring new cities with my lab mates. I believe that I have become a better person out of this Ph.D., and I am grateful for what I have and what I shall have. Even if I decided to leave the field, my interest in the brain shall never cease, since any self-introspection would eventually lead us to the age-old question: Who am I? Am I the collective of my thoughts and memories? Am I the wiring pattern of my 86 billion neurons? Am I a brain in the tank? …