It’s hard to believe that this journey is coming to an end. It wasn’t that long ago that I came into the open house event and met Dr. Zamora, Kelly and her sweet mother. I knew that the program was going to be a good fit for me, but I did not know that I would make so many wonderful acquaintances over the journey.

From my first class with Professor Sisler, I knew that my colleagues were going to become a special part of the entire experience. We all had something unique to offer one another. It’s easy to say that I’ve learned so much from each of you. I’m sure our journey together is not at an end. It has only began.

We all faced our own challenges when the impact of COVID-19 hit us. For me, the transition to an online learning environment was difficult. Especially while trying to get through Dr. Nelsons Methodologies course. I think you all can agree with me on that one. Academically, it was the hardest course for me throughout the program. The thesis work took the most out of me emotionally and physically. However, I can now look at this work as one of my greatest accomplishments.

Looking into my future, I don’t know what will come of it. But I can say that I have applied for a EdD program at Monmouth University. Not only do I want to make a change in how people view writing as a tool, I also want to help make a change in our academic communities. Hopefully I will be accepted into the program. For now, I wish all of you the best in your futures, and I hope that we can all stay in touch.

After presenting last week, I felt the weight come off my shoulders. I appreciate everyone being supportive as I struggled at times to get the words out of my mouth. It has been a struggle to get through this work. Both emotionally and physically. It is now time to begin putting my final touches on it.

It sounds funny, but I feel like I devoted so much of my time into this work, and I slacked from my other classes this semester. I think that I put my research ahead of all other things and made it my priority. All I know is that in just a few weeks, this journey will be behind me and I’m looking forward to what ever the future may hold for me.

For those getting ready to start their thesis in the coming year, please heed the advice from this video.

Last week I was in Texas to check on the progress of some custom work being done on my motorcycle. It was a quick trip, but the first time in a long time that I was able to get out of my shell and explore. The Dallas, Ft. Worth area was amazing. Although I did not care for their highway system. I thought New York and New Jersey was bad.

Lately I have been in editing mode. This past week, I dedicated my time towards my presentation for the week. It hit me, like many of you have said before doing your presentation, it is hard to believe that this is my last presentation for the program. Where has the past year gone?

I look forward to seeing each of you tomorrow, and I hope that you will enjoy my presentation.

Hey everyone. I took some time away from my work, as mentioned last week, but fear not. I have picked up my thesis work and have began the editing and formatting process. Hopefully, the video above will provide you with a few pointers.

For me, I need to edit out parts that start to ramble incoherently due to my altered mental status from the work. As I reflect on my research questions and my approaches, I feel as if I spent a lot of time on the research and have concrete support to back my work.

Next, I will be starting to get my presentation ready and continue with my editing work.

It has come to the point where I am loosing control and have to step away from the work for a while. It is important work, I know, but pushing myself through the anguish has become a red flag to knowing thy self. I am not sure how to put myself through this any more.

A lot of wind was drawn out of my sails recently. No need to say what it was that caused it, other than accepting full responsibility for my own actions. Some actions we can control, others we can not. Everything is a choice though. So my choice to save face and not end up in an in-patient facility is most likely going to affect my final few weeks in the program.

It has been a pleasure making an acquaintance with so many of you, I only wish we had more time together in person. Don’t take this wrong, as I am not giving up. That is not something I do. I do believe that my path needs to change. It is so late to try and do something else, so maybe if I sit on this, I can edit out some things and wrap up what I have.

What a great weekend. It was a much needed quick get away. I made very little progress on my work this week. During our would be time together tomorrow, I will be working on some formatting and citation additions to my bibliography.

Now I’m off to rest. Just keeping it real. I’m stressing the fact that we are rapidly coming to an end of this journey.

I have sent out my writing prompts to my veteran students that have graciously volunteered their time. So far, I have yet to receive any replies. In an effort to remain productive, I’ve completed a thirty day journal that people can use to find a more positive outlook. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think.

Well, it is official. This past week was spent doing as little as possible. There is no need to beat around the bush. The break on Thursday was much needed. The only advancement on my thesis work for the week was the brief revision of my writing prompts that is being sent out tomorrow.

I had a lot of genuine concerns about what may come out of the responses I receive from my volunteers. It was really weighing heavy on my mind, so I needed some time of clarity. My main concern is that I may have someone participating and their responses could be a red flag, or a cry for help. I’m still concerned, so I did a little research so that I can be better prepared for this ‘worse case scenario’.

While I want my volunteers to know that they have my word on maintaining anonymity and confidentiality, I also want to be able to guide them to additional resources and support if I see that they are an immediate threat to themselves or someone else.

In other news, I broke my stubbornness and admitted to myself that I could not shovel the snow this past Thursday. I did a little research and found a local company that did the shoveling for me. The cost was more than I really wanted to spend, but the cost of saving my back from that pain was priceless.

Things have been stressful, but what else would anyone expect while working on a thesis for your M.A.? Especially when the information being researched pertains to so much of your own life. In the past week, I took the time out to do some deep, personal inner inventory of myself. In wanting to help others with the results of this thesis, I must be able to help myself.

Through my inventory, I came up with an idea that relates to my research. I want to create a yearly journal that has prompts for daily writing. The prompts will be to help others by logging daily life events. It is hard to shut your mind down at the end of the day, when you have so much weighing on it. The journal would have three daily prompts. Two of which would be the same every day, with the third one always being different and a positive attribute to one self. I think that many people would benefit from having something like this to help guide them through the negativity that pulls us down each day. It is important to always end the day with positive energy. Positivity helps to have a more restful night.

After clearing my mind, I took the time to compose the prompt that I will be asking my volunteers to write about. That prompt will be: How has journaling impacted your daily life? Do you find that when you write about your experiences, you feel some relief in any way? Would you recommend journaling as a tool to those that suffer from P.T.S.D.? Why or why not?

My survey ends at midnight tonight. I am very pleased with the amount of my fellow veterans, that have volunteered to participate in my research. Time to complete the written responses from my volunteers will be two weeks.

During that two weeks, I will be continuing to work on my own writing samples that will be included in the thesis. So for now, and always, I wish peace upon all eyes that have fell upon this update.

Things have been stressful, but what else would anyone expect while working on a thesis for your M.A.? Especially when the information being researched pertains to so much of your own life. In the past week, I took the time out to do some deep, personal inner inventory of myself. In wanting to help others with the results of this thesis, I must be able to help myself.

Through my inventory, I came up with an idea that relates to my research. I want to create a yearly journal that has prompts for daily writing. The prompts will be to help others by logging daily life events. It is hard to shut your mind down at the end of the day, when you have so much weighing on it. The journal would have three daily prompts. Two of which would be the same every day, with the third one always being different and a positive attribute to one self. I think that many people would benefit from having something like this to help guide them through the negativity that pulls us down each day. It is important to always end the day with positive energy. Positivity helps to have a more restful night.

After clearing my mind, I took the time to compose the prompt that I will be asking my volunteers to write about. That prompt will be: How has journaling impacted your daily life? Do you find that when you write about your experiences, you feel some relief in any way? Would you recommend journaling as a tool to those that suffer from P.T.S.D.? Why or why not?

My survey ends at midnight tonight. I am very pleased with the amount of my fellow veterans, that have volunteered to participate in my research. Time to complete the written responses from my volunteers will be two weeks.

During that two weeks, I will be continuing to work on my own writing samples that will be included in the thesis. So for now, and always, I wish peace upon all eyes that have fell upon this update.