I’m currently a third-year doctoral student. About a year and a quarter into my studies, I finally realized what the PhD was all about: it’s like playing in a sandbox.
Rather than toddlers, the sandbox is full of adults (though we often feel juvenile in our thinking; our academic brains are still forming).
Instead of sand, we’re playing with ideas.
And rather than building sandcastles, we’re building our dissertations.
Playing in the PhD sandbox looks like this: read the greatest theologians, philosophers, biblical scholars, literary critics, sociologists, etc. from the past 200-2,000 years. Now…
1) Elucidate their method, argument, main points, and how they arrive at their conclusions
2) Explain the above intelligently
3) Compare, contrast, and critique these thinkers and their ideas
4) Explain the above coherently
4) Add your own voice and contributions to these thinkers and their field
5) Explain the above academically
When people ask what the PhD is like (or how it’s going), I use this analogy. I tell them that I spend my days playing in a sandbox of ideas. And, just like a real sandbox, sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes you get sand in your hair, mouth, and eyes, and go home crying. Other times you’re so enthralled with creating and interacting that it’s glorious fun! Sometimes you build a masterpiece, but sometimes the sand doesn’t hold and your castle crumbles, despite your best attempts.
Most days, it’s awesome just getting the opportunity to play.