A Sign

A couple of weeks ago, I opened a random literary magazine and the first piece was a collection of aphorisms. The first aphorism was, "If you can't take the first step, take the second step." I took that as a sign that I should go ahead and schedule my defense even though my dissertation isn't, strictly speaking, done yet.

Now the defense is scheduled—for November 19—and I'm busily finishing up the World's Shortest Conclusion and trying to educate myself on all the university's formatting requirements.

Every time I get another step closer to being done, I feel amazing! A nice change from despair—much more motivating.

The only thing I foresee being a problem (well, not the only thing, but a major thing) is that I still don't like my dissertation. I hate to be negative, but...it's really the last thing in the world I would want to "defend." Some faking of confidence might be in order.