Writing an undergraduate honors thesis has more to do with Ptolemaic astronomy than you might guess. While I am not at liberty to discuss the full details (you will have to ask Prof. Baggetta to fully address the connection) I can tell you the connection comes down to one word: epicycles.
The perfect time to ask Prof. Baggetta to explain what I mean by this is when you’re going through the throes of the writing process in October and November. By that time this year, I had gone through about three different waves—or epicycles—of writing.
Because of my other classes and extracurricular obligations, I was never able to create as consistent of a writing schedule as Prof. Baggetta suggested. (Don’t make my same mistake. Make a schedule and stick to it.) This inconsistency yielded me a full-blooded caffeine addiction, quite a few 3am nights, and a heavy reliance on friends and family to keep my head on straight and “locked in.” The other result? Researching and writing in waves.
These waves were not always hectic. For many, I would go into each iteration of the paper with a clear idea of where I need to get to. I’d sprint forward for a pair of weeks (with the help of the lab I was a part of, I learned how to use R at an intermediate level at probably much too fast of a pace) and then become relatively less productive. In short, I would feel like I was “stalling.”
I felt like I was moving backwards. But I wasn’t.
Several times while writing my thesis—a process that essentially lasted from March to December—I made major progress for two weeks only to feel lethargic for the next one (or two). But I was always moving forwards, despite feeling like I was falling behind.
You will feel like this at some point(s). It is okay. You are the most recent in a very long and rich tradition of students who have endured and succeeded in this environment. You will continue their tradition.
There’s no silver bullet for feelings of research retrograde, but I can offer some advice. Read the blog posts (e.g., J. Ralstin’s) to know where you’re heading. Meet with your advisor regularly and come prepared to every meeting with a minutes sheet you fill with notes. Get to know your classmates, they will be your biggest allies. Most importantly, speak with Prof. Baggetta as much as possible – and be sure to ask him about how to deal with the epicycles of research.
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