Posted by seedwoman on March 17, 2001, at 19:26:24
In reply to Re: Any writers....., posted by coral on March 17, 2001, at 8:38:26
As a dissertation survivor and one with a successful academic career, I agree heartily with Shar and Coral. What I tell my students is: the most important characteristic of your dissertation is that it is your ticket to a Ph.D. (not to say that quality is unimportant, but by this stage you will write something defensible--just resist the temptation to perfect it or think of it as your life's work). Think of it as a tool. If it helps, think of it as your enemy. You will defeat it.
Also: all those pieces/parts do indeed add up into a whole big document. If you are daunted by the idea of something so big, just focus on completing parts of it.
One day the diss. will appear as an attainable goal. You will see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you will haul ass.
Many times I have seen students finish *only* after they isolate themselves from all distractions and do nothing but write. And if you just put one sentence on paper every single day, it will get finished.I realize that the ADD makes the work that much harder for you, and I know that must be very frustrating. do the meds help at all with that?
something struck me about your message--it gives the impression that you are helpless in the face of the "powers that be". Yes, grad school is full of pressures and you don't get no respect, but you have a will and are capable of choosing. Nobody can put you up for a fellowship against your will. For particular and no doubt very good reasons, you have placed yourself in a position in which you feel a great deal of pressure to conform to other people's expectations. There's nothing wrong with this, but it might help to recognize it as a choice & thereby realize that you do, in fact, have the power to change things.
I don't say this to be mean or derisive. It is just something I've learned through my own experience.good luck. you will get there. it is, at the end, a question of sheer determination and refusal to give up.
poster:seedwoman
thread:5140
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010209/msgs/5155.html