Y'all. I've officially formed my Dissertation Committee (with some absolute rock stars) AND I just sent my chair the draft of my first 3 chapters (the dissertation proposal)!!!

With any luck, I'll be a doctoral candidate in just over a month!

I got a new job, which I started today! and it's something I've been working towards for over a decade now. I'm thrilled, but it's also surreal.

We will also be moving across the country in the next few weeks, which includes buying our first house!

And, in the middle of all that, I am defending my dissertation prospectus (proposal)!

Here we go:

- methodological approaches

- write brief comparative overview

- write selection justification

- research methods

- write brief comparative overview

- write selection justification

- write/pull together research design summary

- write/pull together resilience summary

- review alignment of problem, purpose, & RQs

- definitions

- compile definitions list (alphabetized)

- clarify/format in-text definitions

- copy over high points of lit review

- resolve asterisks (my revision flags/placeholders)

- update in-text citations with Zotero plug-in (final step!)

It's a little daunting to look at this list all written out. But I ultimately need to get each of them done - not perfect - this week.

I'm sick.

I wrote a few paragraphs this morning while drinking coffee on the patio with my dogs. Then I had my Sunday crochet session with my mom and grandma (we're teaching my mom to crochet!), where I got to talk through my panic attack and the assignment and how I was tackling it. It helped me realize a few holes I'd missed (no pun intended - crochet & holes 😜). So I came home, tackled those gaps, wrapped up the final paragraphs and a quick conclusion, ran it through Grammarly, and submitted that b*tch!