The end of April and beginning of May has been a busy time for me. I came back to Leicester after spending the bank holiday weekend at home in Suffolk and since stepping off the train it’s been non-stop.
Leicester Vegan Festival & Handmade Festival
It will reassure you to know that even in the middle of dissertation writing and revision that I was able to do some fun things. I went to Leicester Vegan Festival and stuffed my face with lots of goodies (although this feels like forever ago now) and enjoyed Handmade Festival in the SU with my best friend, Emma. Although most of the bands we saw weren’t really my cup of tea I danced and screamed my heart out to Twin Atlantic on Saturday night.
My Birthday
Having a birthday in early May straight up sucks. As I’ve got older, I’ve either been knee deep in revision or surrounded by deadlines on all sides. This year I was determined to have my dissertation and last essay out of the way so I could take the day off and enjoy myself. My parents came up, the first time I’ve seen them on my actual birthday since I started university, and we went to Tropical Birdland and ate a lovely meal at the Orange Tree. Although my mum got bitten by a Giant Macaw (something that could honestly only happen to her) it was a successful birthday all told.
Handing in my Dissertation
Perhaps the biggest piece of news since you and I last spoke is that I finished and handed in my dissertation! I realise I haven’t been doing regular updates on my progress on my blog and that’s because it was a long, drawn-out journey to the finish line. Working fifteen hours a week and dealing with big troughs in my mental health meant that some weeks no progress was made at all, so I didn’t want to constantly remind myself of my failure.
However, I completed the final draft of my 10,000 words with enough time to proofread at least ten times over and make some revisions. I even managed to submit it four days early so it was out of the way before my birthday!
I waited until the day it was due to hand in the printed-and-bound copy with my housemates, and it was a gloriously sunny day so our dissertation hand-in photos were all ON POINT.
I’m really proud of myself for getting it done and it feels weird that the project that has been part of my life for eighteen months is now out of my life forever. I’m resisting the urge to read the copy I had bound for myself as I know I’ll inevitably spot a typo I missed.
Submitting the final essay of my degree
I also got this finished and submitted before my birthday, although at only 2,500 words it didn’t feel like such a weighty send-off. Seeing the Turnitin Submission page was a rather anti-climactic end to four years of essay panics, deadline hugging, and the occasional all-nighter all told but it’s strange to think that I’ll probably never write another academic essay again.
After two exams, I’ll be finished with my undergraduate education and staying in Leicester over the summer before heading off on the next big adventure. I’ve made it through final year without having to do a single all-nighter and without going to Shabang once, so all told it’s been a successful year.
Subscribe to Courtney's posts
Well done! I remember that sense of relief from finishing your dissertation very well. Good luck in America!