Monday, June 13, 2011

I Call It My Thesis Weight...


...And not in an endearing sort of way.

It's more of an I-can't-believe-I've-gained-back-so-much-of-the-weight-I-lost-last-year-and-I-hate-it-so-much kind of way.

I find thesis weight to be much less noble than baby weight. I mean, when all of this is over, I'll have about a 100-page paper* to show for it. Something that will hopefully be published (at least once...), but that's all.

I won't have a 5+ lb. bundle of life in my hands (the way my family grows them, it's more like a 9+ lb. bundle) that I spent 40 weeks creating in my body, that I am then expected to nurture and teach for at least the next 21 years of your life (but, which continues on into the 30s and 40s easily I'm sure - albeit without the same intensity).

Perhaps I sound a bit anti-feminist. And truth be told, I kind of am. But that's another discussion for another day.

*this beast of a paper is currently 70+ pages. but let me quickly add that I've only created 16 of those pages (so far. it'll definitely be longer, but not 50 pages...). the rest are appendices that I only needed to insert. but you never hear that part of the story when someone tells you their thesis length. at least I don't. so it sounds as though they've created all those pages, when really... they haven't.

3 comments:

Eliza said...

I talked to Alex today. Last week proposal; next week defense. way to go. it's worth the weight.

eden said...

thanks eliza! things are moving along... and i'll be so glad when it's all done!

kathy w. said...

Only 9% of Americans have a graduate degree. It's noble, indeed!

The weight won't stick around—summer is coming, and eventually, your defense. I'm excited for you.