Got my grades today - two As and one Pass - Yeah. Although grades do not matter at all in a doctoral program, I am sort of bummed that I have all A's and one B+ - carrying a 3.96 GPA. I got the B+ in curriculum at the beginning of the program. I won't go into any more detail about that class...brings back many bad memories , not to mention I gained a ton of weight from the stress. Crazy thing - I got A's in Statistics I and II, Quantitative Research, and Qualitative Research - the four hardest courses.
Now all I have left are two classes in the fall - a financial class and Writing for Publication. I have to get my butt moving on my dissertation. I am going to try to work on it every day from here on out. At least 1/2 hour each day. I am not trying to make excuses to not work on my dissertaiton, but I am just so exhausted. I seriously need to move away for two months and do nothing but work on it. I would love to be able to spend more time on research. I actually enjoy reading and writing now. Not that I did not like reading before, but I dreaded writing. Over the last few years, I probably wrote over 100 papers. The more I read, the better I write. The more I write, the more confident I am in my writing.

If you are planning on enrolling in a doctoral program, be prepared to write and write and write and write. If you feel that you are not a good writer...don't worry - you will eventually become a great writer. I actually thought about spending one year on my writing prior to enrolling into the program, but Dr. Semich talked me out of it. Thank goodness! I would have 2 years left instead of 2 classes.

Although this journey has been wonderful and painful at the same time, I learned a great deal about myself. I don't think that I would be the person I am today if I did not enroll into this program. I feel that I have become much stronger as a person, more confident in who I am, and gained a strong will to never give up no matter what is thrown at me. I have always strived to learn as much as I can, but going through this program has opened many doors for me. Doors that will lead me down so many paths. I have so many opportunities with this degree. I just can't wait until I can really start my journey after I graduate.

Update on Sydney - Took her to the vet today - glucose level down to 190 - she is doing great on the double dose of insulin. I have had her for five years now and she has been so wonderful. I always felt that she was abused by her prior owner, and now I know she was. They found a gun pellet in her right shoulder today. She is going under the knife on Thursday for the vet to remove the pellet. Hopefully she won't be in any more pain.

Until next time!