Shifting the Burden

Finally, after uncountable hours of work, I have finished the initial draft of my thesis paper. Rolling in at 62 pages total (some of those are contents and acknowledgements, but I had to work on that too), my thesis, The Distributional Limits of Swamp Rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) in Southeast Missouri, is almost complete. Here's what's left:

In addition to the digital copies of the manuscript that I've already sent, I need to turn in hard copies of the paper to each member of my committee. After that, I've got to get everyone to agree on a time, date, and location for my defense. Next, give said defense. Finally, edit the paper to fully meet with the approval of the committee.

To sum up, the hardest parts are likely behind me. It's still going to have challenges, but from here on, I'll be able to predict most of those challenges a lot more than I could predict how my draft was going to turn out.

Now the burden isn't solely on my shoulders, but more with the committee as a whole. Three professors have to decide on a time when they (and the public) can get together and decided... well... that I'm finished with everything, or most of it.