If there is one piece of advice I can share with other EdD students, it’s that there are a variety of false summits on your way to done. I titled my last blog post The Final Stretch, and that, apparently, was wildly optimistic. This “final stretch” has felt more like a couple of marathons tacked on to the end of a whole different marathon.
My last post in this series seems a lifetime ago. And the first post? Several lifetimes ago.
Now, I must be in the last push because my final defense is scheduled for the end of March, and I must have my dissertation to my committee to read 2-3 weeks prior to my defense, and it’s already the end of February…so I guess I’m almost done!
And that’s the hardest part: I could work on this dissertation forever. I tend towards a considerable amount of pondering in considering my analysis, the implications of my analysis, how to wrap up my Chapter 4 and 5. I want to luxuriate in my thinking, in my revising, and in my polishing. But there’s just not enough time.
My dissertation will be good enough, and thus, done soon, whether I like it or not. Suddenly it’s become clear to me that the reason you see a lot of typos in published dissertations is because you just never have enough time. At no point since I started working on my dissertation proposal at the end of 2024 did I feel like I had enough time! It’s been over a year of what feels like a mad rush to get the next thing done, and the next, and the next, and meanwhile, continually revise everything you’ve already done along the way.
I kept thinking I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, or that my analysis would wrap up soon, but it’s the revising and rethinking that has gotten me. I knew it wouldn’t be straightforward, but it has also meandered a lot more than I expected.
I will say that I’m feeling very zen about the final defense, where I will present a 30-minute presentation about my research to my committee, and they’ll decide if I pass and deserve the doctorate or not. (A good chair does not let you defend unless you will pass!). It’s a very different feeling than when I defended my proposal, which is where I presented the research that I planned to do. I was so stressed out for that!
Wish me luck!