Thesis Writing, Blogs, Women, Almost Done with School!!!

I just finished my last literature class that I will EVER have to take!!

It feels so GOOD!!!

I also just finished the research seminar class for my thesis!!

I have been in the MA English program at CBU off and on since 2004. Sheesh!!

You'd think I'd be done with my MA by now, but No, I decided to take my own route.

In the middle of trying to do school, I had 3 boys and moved out of state (to Bend, Oregon) and back (to So Cal) and out again (to Seattle). So, I've been doing this program off and on for awhile!

Lucky for me, my professors agreed to let me finish my thesis and my last required lit class from Seattle.

Anyways, my thesis proposal is done and ready to be presented and defended August 26th at CBU!! 

I plan on passing too!!!

I just hope I don't get super nervous and my mind goes blank and I sound like a rambling idiot in front of a room full of professors and graduate students...eeeeekkkkk!!

I am so ready to get this over with!! I can see the light now at the end of the tunnel!!

I am actually going to finish my MA!! AAAHHHHH!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Seriously, I didn't know if I ever would! I wanted to, but my priority has been my family and I wasn't sure if I could do it and be the wife and mom I needed to be! 

Thankfully, I have an amazing husband who has supported me the whole way! 

I would never have gotten this far without Willy!! Thank You!! 

I am also very happy that at least I will have something to show for all my school loans now! Next spring (when I hope to have my thesis written to graduate), I can hang my diploma in a fancy frame on the wall and know I got my $@#,&!% worth!! HAH!

Writing my Thesis always intimidated me since I first started the program. 

What was I going to write on???

It had to be something not overdone, something worthy of study and my hours of writing, and something interesting to me and others. Luckily, with the help of my amazing professor, I formed a pretty good topic that I am actually interested in writing about +/- 80 pages or so on...HAHAHAHA!!

If you are at all interested in my topic, which deals with current women's autobiographical writing on blogs and in books, here is a little blurb from my thesis proposal...

(If you are bored already, you don't have to read! I'll never know!!)

My Working Thesis:

In their personal blogs and corresponding printed memoirs, Julie Powell, Molly Wizenberg, and Shauna Ahern display the power of autobiographical writing as it reveals their personal transformations through writing in which they examine past relationships, cook and engage with gourmet foods, and explore critical life choices, creating community, dialogic discourses, and a voice for themselves in society and for women alike.

Primary Texts:

·       Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Kitchen Apartment, by Julie Powell

·       A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg

·       Gluten-free girl: How I found the Food That Loves Me Back & How You Can Too, by Shauna Ahern

A Few Other Blurbs...

• Unveiling their lives on electronic texts and then onto the pages of a book, they immediately establish a sense of community among women. With skillful storytelling, the women each communicate a story of transformation and discovered identity. The power and lure of food for each woman also is vital to perceiving their personal transformations and to recognizing why their writings are so popular in today’s culture.

• Women see themselves in and through a collective identity, not just through their own individual journeys. As readers, women often relate personally to autobiographical texts, identifying with the feelings and situation of the writer. So, memoirs are significant for both women authors and readers alike. They build community, create a journey toward self-discovery, and articulate the place and experience of women in society. 

• Blogs empower ordinary people to write about their thoughts, beliefs, and experiences. As women bloggers lay bare their thoughts, feelings, problems, and experiences, they become a public voice for many other women in society. Their autobiographical writings take them out of isolation and create a community of women who can declare, “I’ve been there,” finding freedom through interaction with the text. Vast communities of women exist today due to blogs connecting women through common interests and life experiences. The popularity of these blogs and communities has created a large amount of attention, resulting in book deals for well-liked bloggers. As a result, blogs are creating new writers and revealing the modern day experience of today’s American women through printed texts as well.  

If you actually read all that, then I am super impressed!

Thanks!

I thought, maybe, it would be a little interesting to put on my blog since my thesis deals with women's writing and blogs!

I would love to hear your feedback if you have any!!