Tag Archive for 'Stephen Hawking'

My depression in Waterloo, part 1: the first term

Published by davinci on May 18, 2009 in autobiography and personal. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The previous series of posts, called “The causes of my depression”, established the triggers that set off my depression. Since coming to Waterloo, I have been encountering these almost every single day. I am therefore beginning a new series on (the effects of) my depression in Waterloo. As before, these posts were expanded from notes I took after my sessions with UW Counselling and a private psychiatrist.

The University of Waterloo is run on a system of three terms (or semesters) of four months each per academic year. The first term actually went very well for me, right up until near the end of the term, when I made the mistake of consenting to a visit from my parents… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. My depression in Waterloo, part 5: feeling “unworthy”
  2. My depression in Waterloo, part 8: disguising my research
  3. My depression in Waterloo, part 6: meeting people
  4. My depression in Waterloo, part 9: exposed
  5. My depression in Waterloo, part 13: dropping out
3 Comments

The causes of my depression, part 5: the Stephen Hawking incident

Published by davinci on April 26, 2009 in autobiography and personal. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Throughout high school, I used to carry around stacks of books and scientific papers with me. My father had warned me not to bring them into the house because he did not want to see them, but of course I would just hide them in my room or disguise them by putting an acceptable book on top or in front of them. I thought that the whole charade was rather quite funny. I had friends who hid pornography or alcohol or music with illicit lyrics from their parents, and I even knew of people who stashed drugs; my classmates stayed out late to attend parties or meet with lovers. And here I was, having to conceal scientific papers and sneaking out to go to the university library! But I was caught several times, and punished with varying degrees of severity.

The one incident which finally made it impossible to study at my parents’ house was actually rather mild… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. The causes of my depression, part 4: the Mentorship Program
  2. The causes of my depression, part 12: my grandmother’s death
  3. My depression in Waterloo, part 1: the first term
  4. The causes of my depression, part 17: my “frivolous” web site and how I learned Persian
  5. The causes of my depression, part 3: “stop wasting money on worthless books”
3 Comments