!$@#& is Getting Real

I found this image when I looked up "dissertation proposal"
and I think it's pretty funny that it comes from a wikihow
about how to write a dissertation proposal.

My fall semester is almost over. Next week I have my last class, kind of my last class ever for normal course loads. What this means is that after this semester, I have officially finished all but one of my required courses. I decided not to be an over-achiever and take more courses than I needed to (admittedly there are some that I'd love to take, but I'm using some self-restraint). The only course I have left to take is one titled Research Practicum. We all refer to this course as 995, because that is the course number - for some reason we refer to courses as numbers here, so I would say, "Have you taken 955B yet?" and what I'm asking is "did you take the qualitative methods class with Dr. Gonzales?". So 995 is up next. And this course is where I will write my dissertation proposal, and then hopefully soon after completing this course I will defend my dissertation proposal, and by defending my proposal I can then begin collecting data for my dissertation. Oh yes, this PhD !$@#& is getting REAL.

Just registering for 995, however, is not allowed. First I had to provide some outline for what my dissertation would be. And by outline I mean about 1,500 words. And then of course me being me, I wrote a lot more. My first draft I sent to my advisor, who holds the strings on whether I get approved for 995. I admit, my first draft was a bunch of random thoughts. Unfortunately, I assumed that he would understand. That would be a resounding NO. So, note to self, don't give garble-gook to my advisor, even if it all sounds like a great idea. Working through ideas on paper just isn't really the best way for someone to read my mind. While he provided some feedback, what he really should have said was, "What the *%$#! is this?"

I regrouped and sent him 3,000 words, much tidier. He responded again, and said I needed to push myself a little more. So I regrouped again and gave him 4,000 words. Have I mentioned that writing is a way that I learn? I always over-write. One of the last papers I turned in during last year, my initial draft was 10,000 words. I had to cut it down because I could only turn in 6,000. But I sure learned a lot. So anyway, I'm in. After the third draft, I nailed something down and was able to describe it well enough. However, I am modifying my dissertation a little because I decided I needed to pursue something I was more interested in, and I just wasn't completely sold on my initial idea. (Of course, once I really get that nailed down, I'll write about it more here, but it's still in the somewhat garble-gook stage). Fear not, however, I know what I'll be doing, and I just need to clarify, and it's not drastically different from what I was focused on before. Now I just have to write a little more so my advisor knows of these changes more concretely.