It's been two years...
...Since I last logged into DeviantART. Holly F***!!!
I never intended to "abandon" this account but this PhD really drained my motivation to do other things besides work and lowered my interest in almost everything else... which is bad. Really, really bad.
To be honest, I actually never believed how mentally draining it is to commit to do academic research. I had read all those articles about how PhD students face high levels of stress and depression and thought that <i>I</i> would never fall into those statistics. Reality is, I have. I mean, I knew (sort of) what I was getting into and actively sought to enter a PhD program for the challenge it posed, what I wasn't actually prepared for was, well, <i>academic egos</i>. No matter that I wasn't exactly unaware of them, I just hadn't experienced them <i>first hand</i>.
These last two years since I entered the PhD program have been, to put it lightly, quite discouraging and frustrating. <i>To put it lightly</i>. Listen, I love what I do. I love birds, I love doing science, and I love learning and challenging myself in that regard. The apathy I've fallen into mostly has to do with the incredibly toxic environment I have to face here in the institute every. Single. Day. There's just so much one person can take and I never realized when I reached my limit.
It hast taken me this long to realize how bad I was getting and how much I stopped doing things I used to love doing, like photography, and drawings, and other shenanigans I used to share here for the sake of sharing. But I'm back on track again. Or, at least, I hope so.
Sorry, this has turned into an unintended rant and originally that wasn't my intention. What I wanted to say was, I'm back. I'll try to pick up where I left and keep maintaining this gallery, submitting stuff with more regularity to pick the pace. Heck, I've been gone so long that even DA's look and interface has changed <i>a lot</i>. I'm not entirely sure I like it but oh well. Adapt and overcome.