Dear Reader,
Here’s a story about my living room wall.
Today, it looks stunning. (If I do say so myself.)
The colour grounds the space, ties together the flooring, rug, furniture, and sets the stage for the gallery wall above the sofa, where photos I’ve taken over the years will bring my past into my present.
The whole area feels warm and cosy but also vibrant, making it unexpectedly just right for me.
But getting here? It was a mess.
It started earlier this month when I went to fix a small area of paint bubbling.
A quick fix, I thought; I’ve done this multiple times before in this apartment.
But when I cut into it, turned out that small visible problem was a clue to a much more serious issue.
In the end, nearly ALL the paint—every layer applied over the past 55+ years—came right off. (28-second video; very satisfying.)
And that meant my 14-frame gallery wall, painstakingly hung with adhesive strips last fall (no way I was drilling into the concrete substrate), was done for, too.
I considered keeping it and hoping for the best, but no, if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right.
Ugh. Sigh. All I wanted to do was paint! 😖
Two days after that initial (attempted) repair, I primed the whole wall. That felt so good.
But then the plaster blistered away from the concrete in a couple spots. And my stomach dropped.
Had I ruined a wall in a rented apartment?
After that, I took a break for a few days and then got back to it. And now it’s done.
The process was slow, frustrating, and emotional.
But at every stage, there was a next step. A resource I could call on. A new skill I could learn. Bit by bit, it came together.
That’s what I see in PhD career transitions, too.
Old layers—your sense of self, expectations for your life and career, assumptions about the world of work—come loose when you start exploring new options.
The process can feel overwhelming. Many PhDs tell me it feels like starting from scratch, or like leaving academia means they’ve failed.
But each step forward brings you closer to a result you can celebrate and enjoy, and that feels truly your own.
Each job search skill you build, each connection you make, each time you tell your reframed story is a step toward where you want to go.
The result may not be perfect. But it can be beautiful, grounded, and truly yours, just like my living room wall.
If you’re in the midst of your own messy process right now, remember: You’ve done hard things before, and you’ve succeeded.
You aren’t alone, and there is a way forward.
This may even be easier than you fear, like me feathering out endless rough edges with joint compound, a product I’d never heard of before this month.
👉 Does this story resonate? I’d love to know your own home upgrade woes, the paint colours you picked for your walls, or anything else on your mind as you read this.
Thanks for reading,
Jen
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