As a senior, you are going to have many demands on your plate. As a CARI senior, you will have even more demands. Throughout the thesis process, I really encourage you to make the research process a priority — especially at the beginning.
First and foremost, get over the need for perfection. Your research results will not be perfect, and your life will be less stressful if you recognize that now. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try your best. Focus on learning the process — this goes a long way. I found my thesis to be a success because I knew my literature review, methods, abstract, and theory sections were done according to the process I had learned. Next time I go through this process, I will know the best practices of constructing them. That’s the important part.
This is important because the CARI Program is not the end goal. Though the thesis will be your end goal for this semester, this is ultimately an exercise in teaching you how to do solid and sound research in the future. This exercise allows you to see if research, or a dissertation, is something you want to pursue in the future. Even if you get to the end and decide it isn’t, at least you learned that lesson.
Finally, be gentle with yourself. Be gentle with those around you. Learning to do something for the first time — whether riding a bike or writing a research paper — is overwhelming and scary. Recognize that those around you are going through the same thing and lean on them when you need to. Don’t let your ego get in the way.
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