Fin

This blog was started as a class project for my Writing for New Media class at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The school quarter is over next week and this will be my last blog post.

This has been a fun and challenging experience for me. I enjoyed maintaining a blog and writing about the oh so glamorous world of graduate school and thesis writing. At times I found it hard to find something exciting to write about. So I do apologize for boring you at times with my thesis writing adventures. Thesis writing is about as fun and adventurous as drinking sour milk.

I hope you readers found that reading about thesis writing was as exciting as drinking fresh milk. With that being said I want to thank all of you faithful readers (that means you mom) that continued to read my blog, even through the boring parts. And blog, I wanted to thank you for being there to vent to, when I really needed it.

I may start another blog someday. However this blog, on thesis writing, will not continue. I am happy to say that I am through taking graduate classes at SCAD and almost through with my Adventures of Thesis Writing.

It is all up to me

The school quarter is over next week. This is both good and bad news to me. On the one hand I am very glad to be done with my classes and grad school, on the other hand this means it is all to me from here on out.

The thesis class (though tedious) turned out to be very helpful to my thesis research and writing. I was very glad to have the help and support from my professor and my peers. We covered and finished a lot more than I had expected in the 10 short weeks. My Literature Chapter (chapter 2) is all but finished. My Research Methodology Chapter (chapter 3) is more than half way done, and chapter 4: Research Findings has been started. My abstract is also mostly done. All that is left to do is Chapter 1, an introduction and background to the thesis topic, and the conclusion chapter: Results and Analysis of Data. The first chapter will be easy, the last will be harder and have to wait till everything else is done.

After my thesis is complete and approved by my thesis committee I will have to defend my thesis. "Defending" sounds more challenging than it really is, all it really means is to prepare a presentation on what you have studied, how you studied it and what you have learned. The remaining work for my thesis and defense is now left all up to me. I must admit I am a bit nervous. From here on out I must set my own schedule and keep myself on task. I will keep in contact with my support network outside of class: my friends, family, peers, and of course my thesis committee.

It has been a rough road on this path of writing a thesis. No one ever said success would come easy. Getting a graduate degree has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I am bruised, tired, and worn out, but this road has almost come to an end.

Back in the swing of things

Finally the last box has been unpacked from our move and the dust is starting to settle. As you know it has been a challenge to move while keeping up with school work, thesis and writing a blog. Now that life is starting to get back to normal, its time to get back into the swing of things. Just like this little girl, I too wish to be happily swinging back into a normal routine.

In my new apartment I now have a separate office space (before the office was in the bedroom, bad feng shui). The desk is all set up now with extra storage space for research books etc. I love my new desk space. The feel of the room and the comfort of my new desk chair makes for a great work environment. And Roxanne (my 1 year old dalamation) can sleep on the couch behind me, just like she is now.

Now that my desk and computer are all set up in my new office, I feel like I can successfully finish the task at hand: THESIS. After all, that is what this is all about really. Thesis, here I come.

Dear Blog...

Dear Blog,

How have you been? I have missed you. It has been too long since I last wrote. This is my fault, I am sorry. Writing a thesis has kept me very busy. Plus, as you know, I just moved from Savannah, GA to Austin, TX. It was a busy week of packing boxes and moving furniture and then a very long two day drive, followed by unpacking everything. I know, I know, I shouldn't be making excuses. School work and thesis must still come first. And you Blog, I have also been slacking on you. I do apologize, please for give me. I promise to write again soon. Now I am back to my thesis writing and research.

Sincerely,

Me

P.S. Did I tell you we are already formatting and editing our thesis in class? Editing and formatting is the easy part! I'm almost done!

Thesis Abstract

I made it through the end of the thesis class, almost. This weeks assignment is to write our thesis abstract. At this point in my thesis writing project it is time to reflect on what I have written so far and write my abstract. Once you complete the majority of the thesis document, it is time to go back to the very beginning and write your introductory chapter and an abstract. It feels good to be at this point in my thesis. At times I felt I was never going to finish, now in this moment, the end feels reachable.

According to this weeks course content:
"A thesis abstract is a synopsis of your thesis. The abstract explains to the reader the problem and your research questions. However, it also includes a summary of your methodology, the scope of the study, your results, and recommendations and/or conclusions. An abstract must be a fully self-contained, capsule description of your thesis. It should not be assumed that the reader of the abstract will read your complete thesis or look for an explanation of an unclear statement. The abstract must be able to stand alone."

It is this last sentence that has helped me to write my abstract this week. This thesis abstract must standalone as its own document that describes in 500 words or less what your entire thesis is about. This part was a little hard. To cut down the very large thesis document that I have been spending so much time with in the past couple of months to this 500 word abstract was not easy. Although on the other hand this was one of the easiest things to write for this thesis. At this point I can practically write this thesis in my sleep (not really) because I have been working on it so much and for so long.

I've learned that writing a thesis is just as stressful as I thought it would be. However, I have also learned that writing a thesis was not as challenging as I thought it would be. Now the end is in sight, I'm still not that close to the end, but its in sight.

Moving

Ever tried to move to a different state, find a job and finish writing a thesis at the same time? I don't suggest it.

This month I am moving from my apartment in downtown Savannah, GA to the north side of Austin, TX. I am very excited about moving, but I couldn't have picked a worse time to do it. As I have mentioned in a previous post I am almost done my last quarter of school. The last day of the quarter is August 28th. Our move is scheduled for August 16th - 18th. With all the packing and unpacking happening before and after those days. You might think that is what I should be doing now. However, now I am up in Concord, NH where my parents are packing and moving from to their new house. This month could not be busier.

I am feeling totally stressed out right now with everything going on. I have put some of my work on the back burner, which in grad school is a big No No. My thesis writing advice for this weeks blog includes a moving tip as well:

Moving tip #29:

Don't move and write a thesis at the same time.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to be done...

I am past the half way mark in my last quarter of grad school. You might think that it will all be down hill from here... but its not. I still feel like I have so much more to do and it will take so long to do it. Just like Wally here in the cartoon, I have been working on this project for a few months now and I don't yet see an end in sight. I just got my bill for this fall quarter at SCAD. Until I finish my thesis I have to pay the school $500 each quarter, thats $2000 a year. If that isn't an incentive to finish ASAP then I don't know what is. Incentive or not, this project is still going to be a long and hard process.

I will end today with a quote from my father. He has always worked hard and followed through. Some words of advice from dear old Dad: "Keep your head down, your helmet on and keep your feet moving."

Thanks Dad.