Wednesday 9 May 2012

Dissertation Over and Out

How many of you have  done a dissertation or thesis?

If you have you will understand the feeling you get upon submitting.

I have 2 essays left of my undergraduate degree, and following that I'll have the best summer avoiding the London Olympics by helping young people to find themselves and find their inner strength in a 3 week adventure playground and community initiative.

Handing in my dissertation marked the beginning of that journey. It also marked the end of the journey I've embarked on for the past 3 year - my university life. It's emotional to think that it'll all be over so soon when this experience has given me so much. I'm in this limbo and I know that I will cry but I don't know if it's tears of sorrow, leaving this comfortable life behind, or tears of joy, grateful for all that life has given me and impressed at what I have achieved.

Graduation is on July 17th. After that, hopefully I can go to Ghana and show my grandmother so she can be proud. I'll be her second granddaughter to have completed university - after my sister. My grandmother being a young girl in rural Ghana pre-independence didn't have an education, but the one thing she would tell us from as long as I can remember is that we should reach university, graduate, get jobs.... and bring her money! ;D (bet you were expecting something deep and profound - nah, my grandma's got her priorities!) And now, the two of us as of two weeks time unofficially and July 17th officially would've done just that.

Handing over that dissertation, wow, it must be like how my mother felt when she sent me off to uni. You know that your job is done, there is no more left to do, but you worry... did I do enough? When all the examiners have been and gone, will the result make me happy?

I'll let you know on July 17th.


And if you were wondering about the word count:
13,419 words.

2 comments:

  1. Susan Houchens7 June 2013 at 00:47

    Wow! 13,419 word count? I think your thesis was incredible even without reading it. Does the committee required your dissertation to reach that number or it just happen that you thesis have that number? Anyway, I hope you publish it online or on the website for us to read it. It would certainly be a good source of information for those students who are also on your field.

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    1. The maximum allowed word count was 15,000 and the minimum allowed word count was 12,000 words so I thought getting to the middle of that would be good. I would have given a better piece of work if I had allowed myself to write closer to 12,000 words. I normally like to be succinct, but I think I wrote a bit much and my supervisor picked up on it. But it turned out alright in the end. Maybe after I finish my masters I'll share my undergrad dissertation. Thanks for showing interest.

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