The home stretch

We have had our final day of classes for Fall Semester. We're coming down the home stretch.

Yesterday I turned in a final paper that I sweated bullets on. It was 12 pages long; I wrote a prospectus for it a month ago and crunched away at it for several weeks, before realizing that I really didn't have a clear thesis. I met with my professor, who pointed out something secondary I'd scrawled in my messy first draft that he thought I should focus on instead, but I resisted the suggestion. After all, I'd worked so hard already, I just needed to whip it into shape, right?

I brought my laptop to Key West, figuring I just needed an hour or so of work, and I'd be done. And the whole time I was there, I resisted turning the thing on.

Hemingway's study

Let's go to Hemingway's house instead.

Hemingway's toilet

Another daiquiri, please!!

I knew I'd hit a wall. I came home and realized I needed to start from scratch. I had two days' time, and - luckily for me - someone to help bounce ideas off, advise me on structure, and proof-read. (THANKS, Chris!!) I worked for twelve hours on Wednesday - less an hour for lunch, and two twenty-minute walks with Jack.

Thursday morning all I had to do was make sure all the citations were correctly formatted, proof-read it again, and print. I handed it in at 11:00 AM.

Now all I have left is to put the final touches on another paper before turning it it (I got this one solid!), and study for a final exam scheduled for Tuesday morning. Final writing workshop Tuesday evening will be a celebration at the tavern.

I will have completed my first semester at graduate school! Now I can relax a little Next semester starts January 11th.