I’m not a “spiritual” person and I don’t believe in ghosts or horoscopes (though finding out that my advisor is a metal dragon–mechagodzilla–in the Chinese system was pretty hilarious), but I really can’t resist a good fortune cookie.
I passed my orals!
The one piece of advice that I never got, but that I will now try to give to as many other graduate students as possible is: be happy, confident and excited about your work. Passion and enthusiasm will be reflected back to you, just as fear and self-doubt will help them destroy you.
Well, that, and study your ass off.
Now I just have this little ol’ thing called a dissertation to write. No sweat, right? heh.
Colleen Morgan 
As if there was ever any doubt you’d pass.
I’m very proud of you.
Thank you, jess!
You should have brought this to the exam — to show us afterward, of course.
Well done, Smarty pants
Well said:
“The one piece of advice that I never got, but that I will now try to give to as many other graduate students as possible is: be happy, confident and excited about your work. Passion and enthusiasm will be reflected back to you, just as fear and self-doubt will help them destroy you.”
That took me years to learn, but it’s true. Get excited about things you like. It makes me sad when I see that youngsters are hindred by fear of authority, lack of selfestem.