It Ain't Over

Well, today I defended my dissertation proposal and officially was given the green light by my committee to move forward.  The defense lasted approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, which isn't too bad.  I was asked to leave the room once the defense started and my committee briefly discussed my proposal (I guess...not sure what they really do in those moments).  When I was asked to return to the room they allowed me to speak for 9 minutes and this time they asked me to just summarize my study versus giving my prepared presentation. This is where preparation becomes your best friend and knowing your research helps you tremendously!  So in less than 9 minutes I talked about changes that I had made based on my committee suggestions from my general exam and how I planned to execute my research. 

My committee gave me some valuable feedback including more books and articles to read (I literally wanted to cry at that point.  I am almost legally blind from all of the reading I've already done).  They also discouraged me from using a transcriber for my interviews and a computer software such as NVivo.  Instead, they encouraged me to transcribe my own interviews, and code them using files I establish in Microsoft Word.  As the song We've Only Just Begun began to play in my head, I thought to myself, this ain't over!  I heard what they were saying and again, I understood their points, but I still wanted to cry.  Being a single mom, and having a thriving private practice, in my mind I was trying to figure out when in the hell will I get all of this done!  Most people believe that the hardest part is formulating the first three chapters of your dissertation, and it could be, but collecting and analyzing data is also challenging and when you throw in another round of changes... yes, I still want to cry! Well fortunate for me the Christmas Holidays are approaching and I usually close my counseling practice for 2 weeks, so I guess I'll be interviewing participants, transcribing interviews and coding...Ho, Ho, Ho.  I must say that I am excited that I have finally reached this point in my research journey, but I still have a long way to go.  So as I pull out my wonder woman cape, let's interview, let's transcribe and let's graduate! (And yes, I am crying...).