I am Shahryar! I did my PhD in Geoscience. My PhD was the most challenging chapter of my life. I still remember those days when the pressure was so much that I lost around 10 kg. Looking back, I am not sure I can use those cliche, overused words like resilience, perseverance, and patience to describe what I got out of that journey. I can only say that I survived! And sometimes, that is enough!

Hopefully, my MSc and BSc in Petroleum Engineering were a completely different story. I did not face challenges like language barriers, cultural differences, homesickness, and … but of course, when you choose to study Petroleum Engineering at university, you should be prepared to work outdoors in the heat!

As soon as I submitted my PhD thesis, I started hiking and taking city breaks to bounce back. Luckily, I was in the UK, which has its beautiful countryside and many nature reserves. During these adventures, I met people outside academia—people from all walks of life, each with a unique story, just like me!

Playing the guitar is another hobby I really enjoy. Whenever I am in the mood, I write songs, even though they have never been published. For this instrumental song, I played the guitar tracks (i.e., the melody and rhythm) live, while I added the other tracks later using BandLab, a free digital audio workstation. I also used Vizzy, a free music visualizer, to create the visualizer for the song.