Doing a PhD has never been easy, at least for me. I have not even finished it yet. It has been a long journey with so many ups and downs (mostly downs). I have been working on a paper for more than 6 months, again with many ups and downs. Today, after keeping exploring for months, it seems like we arrived where we started, with just more knowledge of why we are here. It actually keeps coming back to this starting point many times. But this time, I feel better, especially after knowing this quote from T. S. Eliot that my mentor sent me:

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.