Today I am thankful for:

• the discovery of PhinisheD, an online support group for people going through this process. I am not sure that I will post much, if at all, but the idea that I have a place to go to for tips, vents, or understanding if I need it is reassuring.
• a kick ass advisor. I have heard horror stories of professors who are belittling, demoralizing, hard to reach, or otherwise unsupportive. Mine is none of these things. She is making my study better, holding me to higher standards than I feel I need to be held to, and she seems genuinely fascinated with the possibilities of my work. And I am afraid of her enough that when she tells me she wants the proposal in her inbox when she returns from her weekend trip by tomorrow afternoon, as she did in her email response to me today, I will do it.
• childhood innocence, as evidence by Avery. When she heard me tell Brendan I had to have my proposal to my advisor by Sunday afternoon, she said,”So you’ll be a doctor on Monday!?” Oh, if only.

However, I am wondering why the otherwise always timely responsive O’Neill library at BC is taking so long to send me the articles I need to complete my theoretical framework. I followed Colbert’s advice and requested them days ago…