Commencement
By ET
The word commencement is interesting. While you think you have finished the program, and this is a reward ceremony to recognize your achievement, the word itself implies something opposite to “ending”, the word “Commence” means to start. So commencement means it is a fresh start to a new life. To me, it is especially true. My friend asked me yesterday if I would be missing the past years at MIT, I said I would be, but not at the moment. At this moment, I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
When I entered the program, I did not really know the meaning of getting a PhD, it felt like going through another 5 years of college, only with a more focused subject topic. I had a great job that allowed me to travel the world twice a month, meeting all kinds of interesting business people and working together on exciting issues on marketing and pricing. But I decided to come to MIT in the end because it was a “once in a life time” opportunity to get admitted to MIT. I did not realize how hard it was to go through these years, and how large the magnitude of the opportunity cost. I don’t regret it, on the contrary, I loved the experience since if I had not decided to come, I would never have experienced so much. I do realize the cost of sunking so many years in school (I owe so much to my wife, daughters, and my parents), I’m so eager to go back to work and start my normal life (not just math, research, but also many of my hobbies).
Here I post the ticket to commencement to commemorate this moment. Hello, world, I’m back.
