Hello, World!

Hello world is such a cliche. Every tutorial I have ever done that was remotely related to programming has used Hello,World! as an example. But I thought it would be an ideal way to kick off this blog.

So, hi there, world. I'm Rachel, and I just started a PhD in Chemistry. I'm less than a week into it and already I have had some strange thoughts about this thing I've decided to devote the next few years of my life to. It's scary, strange and pretty new.

That said, I'm still in a pretty enviable position. I'm studying for my PhD at the same university I did my undergraduate degree at, so I know the campus and the city really well. I'm also working in the same research group with the same supervisor I had for my master year project. My research is also fairly similar to that I did in my masters as well.

The reason it feels so scary is because there's three years of this ahead of me, and there's much more expected of me.

I've not yet decided exactly what kind of a blog this is going to be. Whether it will be talking purely about research, or if it will touch on other aspect of a PhD. Whether I will talk about success and roadblocks and the emotional side, or whether I will focus on the learning that will accompany my research. Knowing me, it will end up being a little bit of all of it.

To round off this first post, a little background on myself, the author. I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham. I studied Medicinal and Biological Chemistry as a 4 year MSci degree with an integrated master research year. My research will focus on simulations of protein DNA complexes and analysis those simulations.

This blog will record my progress, at least for the first six months until I either tire of it or I become far to busy to sleep, let alone blog.

An Introduction

I have always had problems with my weight. My whole life I have been bullied and teased and ridiculed for being fat. Even at the most active points in my life I have struggled to shed the pounds. At times my issues with my weight have been crippling to my social life, and to my mental health.

I don't pretend to be something I'm not. I know I am a woman who is fat. I weigh approximately 16 stone, am a UK dress size 22 and have a BMI of greater than 30. To look at myself I know I am fat, and if I were to ask a medical opinion I would be told I am obese.

The aim of this blog will be to try to come to terms with who and what I am, to work out the best methods for getting down to my ideal weight, and to share any experiences I have getting there. I want to learn to love myself, I want to find the best way of classifying and quantifying my body, and I want to find the best way of getting myself healthier (not necessarily thinner). Following advice from this post over at Big Fat Deal I should be posting some fiction dealing with the issues of extreme body types (thin as well as fat). There is every likelihood that this will be a long haul trip, but with a bit of luck it wont be absolute hell getting to my destination.

You're all welcome to join me for the ride.