Letter Forty: Can a Thesis be Too Personal?

But one only has to ask the experience of two opposing sports teams on a championship game about what 3-7 score means to know that numbers, facts, carry stories and meanings.

And that who the person reporting on the score is matters because there are many stories to be told about 3-7. I mean I can think of at least four off the top of my head - a story of a underdog, a story of a reigning champion, a story of both teams not making the most of the game, a story of a coach’s final season. Same 3-7 score.

To finally get directly to your thesis question: a thesis is already personal. It’s always personal. Whether people acknowledge it or not.

Letter Thirty-Four: Dear Does Everyone Hate Their Work By the End

I do believe everyone goes through a stage - or many stages - of feeling disenchanted, confused, disappointed, and disliking of the thousands of words they have to output for a dissertation.

Hatred could be and definitely has been a part of it for people (it’s such a recognizable experience that there’s a meme I’ve seen on academic accounts that reads something like “I know a paper is ready to submit once I hate it”).

As could feeling disconnected or apathetic. So I don’t want to say that all the emotional experiences of this stage look and feel the same to people, but it appears as though it is a part of everyone’s journey.

Letter Nine: Dear I Hate Thesis Writing

Thesis writing is a very specific kind of writing, and particularly if you are at an institution with a strong structure for the thesis or dissertation, it can take the joy out of the research topic and writing so easily. And this is coming from someone who very much considers themselves a writer… I would probably venture to guess that most PhD theses are written without feeling particularly great about the writing or the writing process. You would certainly not be alone with that sentiment.