Hey team.
Among my friends, I am notorious for making my academic life harder than it needs to be by putting things off until I can no longer possibly put them off. My undergraduate career has been an ever-present game of chicken between myself and my deadlines; and although I’ve been able to emerge unscathed most of the time, my brain often feels like a scrambled egg.
When I began this thesis journey, rationally I knew I couldn’t pull off a massive research project off the cuff. Here are four things I wish I knew when I began my research project. Take it or leave it, but selfishly I hope you take it.
1. The drive to complete this must be internal.
You’ve got to want it. I know this sounds like common knowledge, but for me it really wasn’t. Take a beat before you begin writing and think about why you chose to take this type of extra work on. I know that golden cord is cute, but I highly doubt that it’s your only motivator throughout this process. For me, I was the most focused and excited to work on my project when I connected it back to why the research was important. Will this research help policymakers help people?
2. No, it’s not going to be perfect on that first try.
And it shouldn’t be! No one ever wants to show their process when doing anything these days—all we see is the end result. So of course you’re going to feel like your first few drafts aren’t up to par, because they aren’t! Not yet anyway. This was my biggest impediment to my writing process. I was so scared that I wouldn’t do this project correctly that I put it off as long as I could so I didn’t have to think about it. All that did was make my life harder in the long run.
3. Your advisor is a resource. Use them!
Initially I was scared to reach out to my advisor with what I considered to be “stupid questions.” Starting out this process, I thought I needed to impress my advisor with my knowledge so she would think I was smart. It wasn’t until maybe a few months into this process when I realized—the whole point of an advisor is to talk to someone who is an expert in the field you’re working in! It makes little to no sense to put up a front with your advisor during your meetings. Always be truthful with what you need and what your progress has been.
4. You’re smart. Stop thinking that you aren’t.
I don’t know why I put so much emphasis on this thesis proving that I was smart. All it did was add extra pressure when I hit roadblocks. The progress with your thesis will NOT be linear. You’re going to have days where things flow easily and you have a thousand ideas, and you’ll have days where you need to scrap whole sections of your research design and start over. If you tie the progress and success of this paper to your self-worth, you’re just going to have a miserable semester. It’s already a huge accomplishment to take on a thesis! Roll with the punches and you’ll come out successful.
Maybe it’s my survivor bias talking, but I’ll say it anyway: all will be well. The research will get done, the presentation will be great, and you’re going to get through it. Cross my heart.
Kylie Clouse is a Senior studying Environmental Management with a minor in Economics and a Certificate of Applied Inquiry. She is passionate about using energy policy to help combat the climate crisis.
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