Colleen

Ten years ago, I made a decision. Because so few people have the opportunity to achieve a PhD, I would make sure to do it. I didn't think it would take this much time to complete it. Time passes but always in the back of my mind, I am so, so grateful that I had the luxury of this time.

I made a decision ten years ago to finish and to make it count, and even if I was going into stats instead of pure math, and wasn't heading for academia or teaching, that I would always keep on being a math chick. And because one person would never ever get the chance to finish her dissertation, I would finish mine and I would make it be for both of us.

( Memories of a person turn into a little set of discrete moments that stick in your head. )