Thesis Finished!

After two years of writing my thesis if finally ready to be submitted - #42!!  This day has taken forever to get here.

First semester
Most graduate students start school in the fall semester.  I, however, decided to start in January because of various circumstances.  So I missed the fall semester course: Intro to Grad Studies.  Let me tell you, if I would have taken this course my thesis journey would NOT have been this stressful because in Intro to Grad you learn about thesis writing and have to write an annotated bibliography with 40 sources pertaining to your topic.  Therefore, when January came and so did the mandatory Communication Research, I was lost.  The first assignment was to turn in a rough draft of the first three chapters within the first two months.  I had no idea what I was going to write about, how to write it, and did not have the 40 sources everyone else had.  So I was starting from scratch, whereas, everyone else handed in their Intro to Grad papers and had a jump start.

I was so overwhelmed, but needed to do it.  I decided to explore the topic of the transmission of family rituals.  There were two girls that took me under their wings and we would have 'thesis parties'.  Yes, the nerdy kinds where we would ask each other how to cite APA.  Yet, it worked for me.  I wrote and wrote and wrote and learned the ropes of grad school.

First summer with thesis
So if you think you can take a break from writing, well you are wrong!  Don't every throw the thesis in the corner or drop the flash drive in a wet bag.  I learned the hard way.  During the summer I worked grounds crew for SDSU and hardly touched my thesis.  For some odd reason I decided I better look at it.  What a surprise I had!  My flash drive had been damaged with water!!! I was mortified because earlier in the year my computer had crashed and I lost it there too.  All I could do was cry.  I did have a paper copy of it; however, that was 50 pages.  Time was ticking by and my advisor needed to see a copy before the summer was over.  So the grounds crew put me on water duty for a week.  (Watering trees is when you sit by a tree for 40 minutes while a truck pumps the water.)  I would type in the pick-up and my amazing co-workers Megan and Sarah would bring their laptops so when mine was drained I would switch to theirs.  At the end of the summer I had worked on chapters 1, 2, and 3 or about 55 pages done.

Second semester
The second semester I was swamped with athletic duties and didn't have to focus on my thesis.  I honestly turned in two drafts and didn't do too much.

Third semester
However, third semester I knew I had to propose, meanwhile still handling athletic events.  I cannot count how many times I pulled all nighters, cried, and wanted to quit.  But everyone was so encouraging.  I remember one of my fellow grad classmates was always willing to look up additional resources for me or proofread my paper.  During a proposal I only submit chapters 1, 2, and 3, and was relieved when I got the green light to take that leap.  I finally proposed on May 3rd and couldn't wait to start researching during the summer!

Second summer with thesis
Wow, that summer was crazy!! This was the time that I had to gather my data.  What does this mean?  I needed to contact five three-generational families and attend their ritual.  I wrote descriptive field notes and did one-on-one interviews with one female from each of the three generations.  The interviews I transcribed - listen to the audio recording and tape exactly what is being said.  Never do that folks.  It is like a death wish.  I transcribed 88 pages before school started… I also had some assistance for this too.  I hated every moment of it though.

I'm so thankful for everyone that allowed me to interview them and observe their ritual!!

Fourth semester
I knew that I would have to defend this semester and thought I was in a great position coming into it.  I had everything transcribed and THOUGHT my previous three chapters were great.  However, time slipped away quickly and before I knew it October was here!  I sifted through the 88 transcribed pages to color code and categorize the themes that emerged.  Next, I had to crank out chapters 4 and 5, while still updating the previous three chapters.  Each Friday I had a meeting with my advisor, so every Wednesday and Thursday I would average three to four hours of sleep.  This has been the most stress I can remember because on top of the thesis there were athletic events - three home football games on Saturday, soccer games on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, and volleyball in between everything else.  Plus I had my other class which I managed to give a 40 minute lecture and write an annotated bibliography and have an essay take home exam.  I felt that sometimes I couldn't keep up, but just when I thought I was done for, Evan would surprise me with a cappuccino, mom would send a Kinsey picture, or a classmate would offer words of encouragement.

So I began writing in January 2010 and finished on October 31, 2011.  On November 15th I will have my oral exam.  The orals will consist of a committee of four people (the dean of pharmacy, VP of student affairs, and two communication professors).  They will ask questions and probe at my thesis and research style for an hour.  After that I will have an hour of orals.  Basically any class I took while I was a graduate student they can and will ask questions about it.  I have 15 days to look over two years of material.

Thank you everyone that has believed in me these past two years!!!