And there it is! The title that I've happily struggled on paper and orally for four years! I'm officially a PhD (Dr Luis Maia de Freitas). Last week, 18th of September, I successfully defended my dissertation in ancient cities in Greco-Roman Syria and Mesopotamia while employing Homi Bhabha's concepts of hybridity and the third space. Not only the topic was a hard one, but the experience of researching and writing at a level of a PhD opened various opportunities to showcase my research internationally, as well as enhancing my current skills for both the academic and industry worlds. Most importantly, throughout this positive journey is the amount of contacts and friendships I will keep them for life, from supervisors to PhD colleagues and friends; from entrepreneurs to scholars. That is what makes a PhD journey fulfilling, and not just sitting down and do your research, where having a life balance helps you to store energy to absorb more knowledge. In sum, between the 1st of July 2021 until the 18th of September 2025 (and with a six month corrections lasting until March 2026), here's a breakdown of my journey beyond the thesis: Self-funded my PhD by working part-time at a restaurant to prepare and serve food, and other jobs as a teaching assistant, cover supervisor and student leader to deliver workshops, mark assessments and supervising pupils to collect and invest my pocket-money; Participated in 6 international conferences and organised, as well as spearheaded 3 of them to share different topics in ancient history and classics towards 500+ speakers and attendants, including scholars and PhD candidates; Created PhD Lounge podcast since the 29th of June 2021, leading me to two awards: Outstanding contributor for the PGR community of Swansea University and to the top 40 best PhD podcast content. Had chats and made friends with different PhDs across the world, and continuing to do so to increase my outreach internationally; Three industry placements in education and corporate social responsibility community projects: The Brilliant Club, Rewise Ltd (still working there), and MFL Languages (will start soon).

Luckily pink goes wit everything. 1 plate and 8 Screws with 70 mins of surgrey. Overnight stay as the procedure didn’t Finish until l 1930ish and I was given Morphine and therefore need monitoring for 4 Hours. Hope you are all well and having a beautiful FriYay

How many men here have a specific beard grooming regimen they stick to? I wash my beard twice per week. I condition my beard when I wash. I also oil it daily. I make sure to pick my beard daily as well. This is a pic of me and my 15 year old.

Last time I gathered this pasture I forgot to get a picture, I was better dress then. Today I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt, I cut myself, from Levi. Jeans are Wrangler, boots by Honcho. Spurs are a custom set out of old files, and hat is a Stetson. I have on an ALICE belt to carry a canteen of water, which rides well when in the saddle.

OK, so by introducing yourself you are guaranteed to get to level 2 - it's really that easy and I LOVE learning more about the cool people in this group. Feel free to share where you're from, why you're here, what you do for a living, and what you like about style. Are you a watch guy, suit guy, fragrance guy, or maybe just getting started? Have fun here!