Finish my PhD

I have begun collecting data- I’m interviewing women for my study- and it’s the most exciting feeling I’ve had in ….ever maybe? This study is what I’ve wanted to do for years. I have a good feeling of ‘I’m not in the wrong profession’ and after every interview I feel so happy!
This is the highlight of my graduate school experience to date (along with teaching, believe it or not), and graduation this spring is starting to feel more like a real possibility. My goal is to complete data collection by the end of November!

I had to pass my dissertation study through two IRBs at two institutions- thankfully it wasn’t too difficult, and I’m now approved to move forward.
I just mailed a check to a magazine to begin recruiting participants. My goal is to defend this spring- and this goal recently became more urgent, as my dissertation chair is leaving my university and moving to another institution!
Well, a little motivation never hurt anyone!

I am breathing a sigh of relief now that I can move forward with my project. I have received preliminary approval from the IRB and am just working out a few details with them about my project.
I was amazed at how positive my committee members were during the defense- it went much smoother than I expected! They also proposed ways to shrink the project down to a more manageable size…which is awesome!
The next step- getting finished with the IRB and beginning to recruit participants!

I’m completing a fellowship application tonight to try to secure funding for the dissertation research. I’ve already been rejected for another fellowship, a discouraging experience. But I’m going to keep trying for others.
I’m glad that my committee has agreed to move towards defending the proposal, but one committee member has given me a pile of revisions following the recent draft that still need to be addressed. It’s hard to describe how tired I am of all this, but there’s only one way out of this- and that’s through it. At this point dropping out is not an option, which means that no matter how burned out I feel (and I feel VERY burned out these days- chronic migraines, anyone?) I just have to keep going.

The latest revised draft of my proposal is due this wednesday. I’m in my fifth year of this program (earned my MA en-route) and am sick to death of being a student. I also work full time at a research center, both a good and a bad thing. Good: I’m getting lots of valuable experience and publications in my field. Bad: It is very hard to find sufficient time to do all the work I need to on my dissertation while working full time, and uh, being in a band.
But after I post this I’m back to edits and revisions on my proposal.