Final Defense- April 21, 2006

Already feels like a long time ago; my final diss defense was on Friday, 4.21.06. It was overall a very pleasant and enjoyable experience. All of the advice that I'd been given by those who'd gone before was true; this time, I was the expert, and nobody else knew my project as well as I did. During the days leading to my defense, I was feeling increasingly anxious, but I reminded myself that this was just part of the process, and I decided to step back and enjoy the process rather than feel nervous about it. After all, a 2 hour defense of my project was nothing compared to the year of hell that I spent working at St. Elizabeths, when considering Noah's ordeal following his birth, I was again reminded that, as important as my diss was, well, it was just school. And I've been in school for a hell of a long time and I've gotten kind of good at it.

I have to say that my dissertation committee and my chair were extremely supportive and the defense felt more like a discussion than an adversarial situation as some defenses can be. My chair rocked, I couldn't have asked for a better mentor. So following my defense, Paul organized a surprise celebration for me at home, and I grinned from ear to ear for several days...I hadn't fully realized the weight that would be lifted when the diss was done. Anyway, enough about that...people who have done or who are working on a diss get what I'm saying, and those who've been spared are probably bored silly, so I'll stop!