Hello readers! Just a quick blog to wish you all the happiest of holidays this season!

The holidays can be hard on PhD students- taking a break doesn’t come easy to all of us but you are absolutely allowed to give yourself a rest. Spend time with your family, friends, or pets, and be in the moment.

My husband and my first married Christmas!

For my holiday break, I have flown to the United States to spend this time with my family and husband, whom I have not seen for over two months. The urge to keep up with the Twitterverse and academic posts there, as well as the opportunity to use the time to get some writing done, is very strong, but it is not what is most important right now. Today is the 24th of December, a day that is very significant to my family. It marks my parent’s wedding anniversary, my husband and I’s 4 month wedding anniversary, my aunt’s birthday, and my cat’s birthday.

It’s my cat’s first birthday…he’s thrilled.

I am reminded on this day that not everything is about the PhD. I have a lot more in my life that deserves the same attention I give my PhD the rest of the year. We all do, so use this holiday season to give those people in your life your love and attention. It may seem like you’re in this alone a lot of the time as a PhD student, but we all have someone in the background who is there cheering us on, even if it’s at a distance.

‘Our First Christmas as Mr & Mrs’ by me…luckily I’m not an art-in-practice PhD!

So breathe this holiday season, step away from the keyboard. Your supervisors will not be looking at emails over Christmas, I can almost guarantee you that, so there is not much point stressing about emailing people during this time. Words can wait, try to fight the pressure you feel to compare your progress with others by disconnecting.

From all of us at SGSAH, we’d like to wish you a happy holiday season, wherever and however you celebrate it. Finish this year on a happy, restful note, and enter 2019 recharged and ready to take on the year. We’ll see you in 2019!

Yes, my family does matching pyjamas. I’ve already been christened ‘Doc’!

We are always seeking new guest bloggers! If you have an idea for a blog post or would like to informally discuss writing for the SGSAH blog please get in touch with Brittnee via email atb.leysen.1@research.gla.ac.uk or connect with the blog on Twitter