From Normal, to Here

Abstract

In this personal narrative, David Hicks recounts his journey as a first-generation student into the unknown world of academia. Coming from a working-class background, he found his feet and thrived at a non-elite university, before being given the opportunity to study for a PhD at one of England’s most prestigious universities. There, in the realm of the elite, he feels like an imposter. The experience has left him yearning for normal, but there’s no going back.