Reflection

I had my first thesis meeting today. As expected, I was a mess of nerves and anxiousness. However, it ran as smoothly as possible. Looking back, I expected a formal meeting with almost and austere air. I don't know why- perhaps I projected my nervousness in having to lead the meeting outwards and created an image of something that did not appeal to me.

Thankfully, that was completely not the case. I was sitting down, at the same level, and just bouncing ideas back and forth. It was less of the convoluted form of the meeting I had in mind, and more of just a place to share ideas. The first portion of the meeting involved reviewing the Introduction and making more edits, which was definitely necessary. What came after was most important, in my opinion. I struggled with trying to structure my research methods and my committee brought their insights on how to improve. It was a comfortable room, in which I did not feel as though my ideas were suffocated. Rather, it actually made me long for such meetings before the "deadline" of the introduction.

As it was the first meeting, I think it's important that I learn from it and recognize some details that require fine tuning. In the future meetings, I think it's important for me to be clearer that I need my revisions a couple of days before the meeting date. That way, we will have more time discussing the process and direction of my research going forward, instead of editing more technicalities. I also regret not meeting my committee members for individual meetings beforehand, in order to clarify some of their edits and resolve those issues. I think that's necessary moving forwards; I want to the thesis meetings to discuss progress and have more of a thought provoking discussion, rather than one muddled with editing a document.

I'm pleased with how my first thesis meeting was concluded. I had more of a structure and direction for myself, and I'm appreciative of my committee for aiding in that process. The meeting clarified quite a bit for me, including why I began to research and question. It reminded me the value of thinking and the power of communicating it within a group. It brought back the purpose behind my research: the curiosity driving propelling me.