Cohort Study

I don't know if you knew that tonight was the series finale of How I Met Your Mother. I knew it. So did Liz. And Alene. And Julia. And Ilene. Yet instead of watching it live, these friends (and more!) chose to watch me give a practice talk on my dissertation proposal. Then spent over an hour coaching me and testing me. Then at the end of it all, they complimented me and thanked them for having them over. 

This is how kind and generous my cohort it is. It is humbling and scary and annoying. Whenever they succeed, I get incredibly proud of them. Then I think, "oh crap, they've set the bar that much higher again, now I have to be just as nice and just as smart or I'll look like a failure."  Good thing I'm used to all kinds of failure.