I began university pursuing the dual honours of Sociology and Politics. I loved both but felt my heart lay in philosophy. How we consider and conceptualise the world is a source of endless fascination for me. But given a choice, my heart ultimately went with research. Going out into the field, speaking to people and discovering something new was far too intoxicating to pass up. However, as my PhD began to draw to a close and I had elected to take a break from academia, the topic of what would take the emotional place of post doctoral study opened up. I still have a desire to conduct research in every Southeast Asian nation but if I was putting that on hold then perhaps it was time to return to philosophy.


I feel woefully underqualified but it struck me that not so long ago pursuing economics seemed ridiculous. In my first year of undergraduate study there were three politics modules; political theory (the philosophy I loved), British politics (which I hated) and International Relations (which was just beyond me). The most confusing part of the course was International Political Economy within the International relations module. Yet somehow I found this part of its appeal and I took the subject in my second year, dropping the Sociology that seemed so straightforward. In 2009 I read a wonderful article called It's possible to subtract mathematics from economics. In it John Llewellyn made me appreciate that I was one of the small number of economists willing to get their hands dirty. There are many roles within a field and I have my place among the political economists. I may lack the theory and numbers of a student with a background in economics but I ended up with a niche.


And so I return to philosophy. I may only have a handful of lectures from my first degree but I have a passion for it and am sure that somewhere I'll find my path.