I feel both relieved and a little apprehensive after handing in the full draft of my thesis. It was relieving just to get everything together into one document (abstract, table of contents, literature review, main case study sections, appendix, bibliography) and finish up the bulk of my research. Seeing how many pages it amounted to made me feel pretty proud, especially since I've been feeling like I'm not doing enough, or there are more resources out there that I absolutely need (as I mentioned in my previous post). This is related to why I'm feeling a bit apprehensive, like I'm still missing something major. But, I just have to remain confident and know I did the most that I could in the time allotted.
As I was finishing up the draft, one thing I was worried about was the conclusion. I kept wondering: would it be substantive enough? But, as I compiled all of my research and sections, I took notes along the way of points I wanted to bring up, and this helped me write the conclusion/findings/recommendations. One piece of advice mentioned during my board meetings was to not be afraid to insert my own voice into the paper, so I kept this in mind as I wrote. After gathering all my research, I realized I am in a position to form opinions and address my topic as someone who knows what she's talking about. Being a student my whole life, it will take some time before I can look at myself as an official or formal 'researcher,' but after thesis, I'm getting there.
Congratulations, Kate, on this milestone and on the undergraduate scholar award! Finding one's voice is an important part of transitioning from student-scholar to emerging-scholar and professional. You've got this! Embrace it!
ReplyDelete