Watching what is happening in the US right now, particularly in regards to research and higher education, leave me wondering if achieving my goal of a PhD in my lifetime needs to be put on hold. It is unfortunate, but due to this supposed "D.O.G.E." I am anticipating a lot of funding reductions for schools.
I had been preparing myself, even if somewhat lazily, to go back to school after working in the private sector for so long. It really is unfortunate, because I feel I have grown as much as my current role will allow. I am also tired of working nights/evenings.
Given the state of the USA and this blitzkrieg by the richest people in the world, which is just a naked attempt to try to cement power and wealth, it seems unlikely that finding a new private sector job will happen soon as I predict a strong economic contraction in the near future. This means I should probably hold onto my role where I have some seniority and people do rely on my already small team. If I were to be laid off a lot of stuff would stop working because I would not be there to clean up the messes that commonly occur.
I should at least count my lucky stars. I have a job that pays well, I can work from home (for now), I have a dog and a bunch of friends. My siblings like to chat often as well. I may have been in a funk for a year but I maintained just enough healthy habits to be able to recover quickly should I choose.
I refuse the funk, I refuse the fascism, and I refuse to fail.