Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Carrots, thesis and things like that.

As always in every student’s life, there are moments where nothing happens, or everything happens at the same time. I like to think I am more in the second type, as the past few days have been extremely busy. Today is King’s Day, and I have all my orange t-shirt prepared… you might need to add a scarf, a sweater and maybe a hat, as it is going to be the coldest Koningsdag in years. I will let you know later what adventures did I live on this day...

To start with, we finished all of our exams. That is a statement on its own, but this was a special exam. Our last subject to be tested was Independent Regulators, and there was a mix of nervousness and melancholy, as many of the students are going back to their home countries to spend time with family and write their thesis. The day before the exam, I was studying in the library at the Uithof, and as I waked back through the black silent shelves, something caught my eye…

Once seen it cannot be unseen, and so I left the library with a sense of confidence, because I knew nothing will be the same after ‘tomorrow’.

Soon after the exam another thought crossed my mind: We had planned a month ago a trip to London, and I have completely forgot about it, because of the early planning. The idea of the trip started as a visit to the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), and then slowly extended to the weekend. Some of us took a plane on Saturday and were there until Monday. It was my first time in England, and with this excellent company, it was very hard to have a bad time. After walking around this huge city, on Monday we had a very interesting talk with some of the members of this authority, and it was very insightful as we managed to see things from a different perspective, as they work in a different legal system, separate from the EU.



On our thesis corner, I am planning to write (at least most of) my fist chapter, in an attempt to speed things up, as it would be nice to have some free days until I present my first draft…but first I need to earn it. A regulator would call it a ‘stick and carrot’ approach. Never underestimate your Master knowledge. Another good advice I can give the people that will enrol for this study or another is that once you know your thesis subject, or at least an idea of it, write your last papers about it. In other words, explore your idea, writing 10 pages of it can help you see more clearly how can it develop.


I must say, I will miss seeing my classmates every week. I knew this was going to be a tough year, but thanks to this fantastic people, it has been an amazing ride.

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