Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Graduation!
Somehow, getting ready for graduation, meant being more nervous than ever.
My immediate family was there with me. My parents and sister were there too. My mother in law and nephew were also there. They came from different places and joined us in this important day.
After the ceremony, we took many pictures. But the first one was with my advisor. It was her who worked by my side through all this time, pushing me when needed, providing me the support I needed to go forward, giving the advice and making the recommendations necessary to complete my dissertation. To you Kara and to Mirka, many, many thanks!
Later that day, we all went for dinner. We shared memories while we eat and laughed and rejoiced. It was then, when I felt I had completed my dissertation journey. Thank you all for your support in this unimaginable journey! To my husband Arturo, to my children Maniel and Nianti, to my sister Lourdes, and everybody else, THANK YOU!
As I wrote in my dissertation: "The distance between our dreams and our goals is as big or as small as the time and commitment we put into reaching them" (p. 5). Writing a dissertation is not only about perseverance, it also means you have to let go of yourself a little and listen to those that work closely with you.
Your advisor is there for you; your committee members want to help you do the best job possible. Even if this means rewriting so many times, it will all work for your best. At times it feels like going back to grade school and learning to write once more. Now you are learning to write as a researcher!
And at the end, when you see your dissertation in your hands, you’ll understand how important it was to have them by your side, how important it was to follow their guidance. Together with your committee members you were able to participate in a community of scholars and produce one of the most important accomplishments of your live.
And so, this journey has come to its end!
- I was anxious.
I was happy.
I felt like crying.
I almost could not believe,
this moment had come.
My immediate family was there with me. My parents and sister were there too. My mother in law and nephew were also there. They came from different places and joined us in this important day.
After the ceremony, we took many pictures. But the first one was with my advisor. It was her who worked by my side through all this time, pushing me when needed, providing me the support I needed to go forward, giving the advice and making the recommendations necessary to complete my dissertation. To you Kara and to Mirka, many, many thanks!
Later that day, we all went for dinner. We shared memories while we eat and laughed and rejoiced. It was then, when I felt I had completed my dissertation journey. Thank you all for your support in this unimaginable journey! To my husband Arturo, to my children Maniel and Nianti, to my sister Lourdes, and everybody else, THANK YOU!
As I wrote in my dissertation: "The distance between our dreams and our goals is as big or as small as the time and commitment we put into reaching them" (p. 5). Writing a dissertation is not only about perseverance, it also means you have to let go of yourself a little and listen to those that work closely with you.
Your advisor is there for you; your committee members want to help you do the best job possible. Even if this means rewriting so many times, it will all work for your best. At times it feels like going back to grade school and learning to write once more. Now you are learning to write as a researcher!
And at the end, when you see your dissertation in your hands, you’ll understand how important it was to have them by your side, how important it was to follow their guidance. Together with your committee members you were able to participate in a community of scholars and produce one of the most important accomplishments of your live.
And so, this journey has come to its end!
Preparing the dissertation's final copy
It took me two months to prepare the final copy. For some reason it was harder to go back to the dissertation, now that it had been approved. But I knew the questions raised by my committee members were only to improve my dissertation, and as such I wanted to answer all or at least most of them.
This meant rewriting the last chapter. Implications and recommendations needed more work. The ideas were there, but they had to be rephrased. I think this was the hardest chapter of all to write. I was not summarizing or analyzing somebody else’s work, I was not analyzing and interpreting data, I was creating new ideas for others to review and hopefully take a step further. This also meant a new set of editorial revisions.
The due date, December 2, approached rapidly, and together with my advisor and editor, we were able to have the final version ready for submission.
Still, this did not mean I was completely relieved. The next step: getting ready for graduation.
This meant rewriting the last chapter. Implications and recommendations needed more work. The ideas were there, but they had to be rephrased. I think this was the hardest chapter of all to write. I was not summarizing or analyzing somebody else’s work, I was not analyzing and interpreting data, I was creating new ideas for others to review and hopefully take a step further. This also meant a new set of editorial revisions.
The due date, December 2, approached rapidly, and together with my advisor and editor, we were able to have the final version ready for submission.
Still, this did not mean I was completely relieved. The next step: getting ready for graduation.
Labels: dissertation's final copy
