The thesis template is a guiding document for higher degree researchers to assist their transition into research. But what happens when the template does not mirror your ways of knowing, being and doing? How do we speak back to an institutionalized structure that advocates support and yet, feels like a Boa constrictor squeezing you into conformity? If Indigenous people are to undertake the challenge of higher degree research for such an extended length of time, it needs to be a reflection of us, does not it? In this paper, I share a selection of stories and insights to illustrate the struggles with the chasms of identity and dominant social norms. I provide insight to the waves of achievement and the troughs of isolation as a PhD candidate. This paper aims to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HDR students to further take up the challenge to disrupt the thesis and to challenge the institutional structures so that the thesis can start reflecting our voices rather than making us fit the ‘box’.

论文模板是高级研究人员帮助他们过渡到研究的指导性文件。但是，如果模板不反映您的了解，存在和行为方式，会发生什么？我们如何回味倡导支持但又感觉像蟒蛇的制度化结构压制您成规？如果原住民要在如此长的时间里接受更高水平研究的挑战，这需要反映我们，不是吗？在本文中，我分享了一些故事和见解，以说明身份认同鸿沟和主导性社会规范的斗争。作为博士候选人，我为成就浪潮和孤立的低谷提供了见解。本文旨在鼓励原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民HDR学生进一步接受挑战，以打乱论文并挑战机构结构，以便论文可以开始体现我们的声音，而不是让我们适应“盒子”。