When starting my PhD I couldnt have imagined that the coolest and by far most stylish colleague would double my age. Philip was motivated enough to sign up for a PhD after he retired and beat the entire misfit-January-intake in finishing the damn thing. Best of all, he did this despite traveling more than many of us who managed to build a bit of a globe trotters’ reputation and for this, he has my complete admiration and a tiny bit of healthy envy. I think the main reason why Philip left us all eating his dust in the PhD marathon, has to do with a wisdom factor that you can only get by living life and by living it well. I believe this factor can help see clearer what really matters in life, giving the lucky person who possess it, a deeper, broader and ultimately better view on living. Aid by this wisdom factor, Philip enjoyed a well-rounded life while studying, where the PhD was something that had a defined place within his life and headspace. This may sound simple, but it was difficult enough for most of us to do every time we stayed working at the office on a weekend or worse, on a sunny day; or whenever we allowed ourselves to stress way more that we should have. In our defense, the PhD has a magical evil feature that tricks you into maximizing its importance, a spell that apparently breaks when you graduate but not a day before that. I watched Philip closely during the time we shared cubicles, I really enjoyed our conversations over pints or coffee, garden parties with his family and friends and many other random moments we spent together; but the real reason why I stayed close to him, was to steal his secret on how to move through life so youthful, enthusiastic and curious. You can see it in his eyes and in the way he smiles in these photos, he knows what he is doing, he is enjoying every minute of it and he plans to go for more. I haven´t figured out Philip´s secret yet, but if I understood anything about life until now, is that some things can´t be rushed. The best I can do is to be as smart as he has in listening and learning from what life has to say, keep chasing my dreams as he has done and always smile back to life as he still does. Thank you, dear friend, for introducing me to Scottish culture, for being my most trusted Fringe adviser and for assuring me that not only I can keep beating at the rhythm of my own drum, but that I definitely should!
