Graduate student + mom : the disadvantage
Instagram / @gradlifemcgill by @fanidee
While I love being a mother-graduate-student (and I will later write a whole post about the advantages), sometimes, it is quite difficult. Here some of the reasons:
- I am very lucky because I got a couple of months of paid maternity leave for each of my child. But not all graduate students can say the same.
- I hate pumping my milk every day (and I don’t want to give baby formula milk). I am lucky to have an office, because Thompson House is kind of far.
- You know this crazy lecture with a superstar scholar? If it’s in the evening and my partner is not at home this day… I will miss it.
- Since most of the academic activities (GradLife meetings, parties, going out with friends) are in the evening, even if my partner is at home, I will be absent. Taking care of two young boys and putting them to bed alone is quite a challenge, so their father and I try to be together with them most of the time. I am going out sometimes with my old friends, but the problem is I don’t really have the time or the opportunity to make new ones at McGill. It is not because I don’t want to know you, guys!