there is nothing too late until death comes for you. there is no regret so final you cannot act on until you breathe your last. there is no final judgement until you finally face the Judge. you can choose to move on because you are still alive - so treasure it!
the thesis was a harrowing experience. for the last week or so, i slept on average 4 hours a day (still pretty good, but considering i usually sleep 7-8 hours...) and for the final 4 days, i practically didn't sleep. i learnt the ironic side of life for us middle-class folk: living off coke and coffee and self-imposed sleep-deprivation is our version of starvation. and on Friday, 18 April 2008, my thesis: The Class Experience of Migrant Workers in Singapore, was finally submitted to the NUS Dept. of Sociology (estd. 1965).
but unlike the bourgeois loners, i had my middle-class friends! jon (with carol) and alexis sensed that i was going to bail on the thesis - 12 MCs, 7.5% of my flat 4.0 in-between 2nd upper and lower CAP - at this final stage. honestly, their instincts were spot on: i had nearly wanted to give it all up. i'm that crazy - or un-middle-class - sometimes. they baby-sitted me during the day, taking turns when necessary... it was John 15:13 in real life.
then there was the parents. my mom dumped all the herbal teas, bird's nests, and chicken essence she could find down my throat. my dad (who's usually non-interventionist) called me up one night i was thonning in sch to check on me, and he took a huge detour to send me to school on my submission day (his camp is in Yishun).
well, we saw a rainbow on the way! God was showing off again =) if anything, He was the most constant person throughout this learning process: everytime i got sick of the work, He nagged at me; everytime i got paranoid and depressed, He affirmed me; everytime i went existential and thought it was pointless, He gave me reason. so when i look back at the footsteps in the sand, i know that truly, "it was then that He carried me."
so what did i learn?
- a thesis is no ordinary essay. it demands extraordinary clarity and precision - or your 12,000 words will look like a trashy magazine rant. no minced words, no fudged data, no self-righteous claims. a good outline is not enough - one must start with extensive literature review. and i mean REALLY EXTENSIVE: every book/journal article on the topic for the last 6 months at least, plus influential (note: often cited) works. a biblio of under 30 books is simply unconvincing.
- get help. a thesis being the first real academic work most students would be doing, many pitfalls await such amateurs. use your supervisor extensively - s/he owes you that. bug them until they give you the help you need - especially tips on how to start off. use your friends too - they know how you think and when you might deflate. they can keep you from going under.
- start early. i know i've "learnt" this many many times... but this time it's different. i've seen the other side - those who have to suffer with you when you drag your feet. it is not for myself that i start early... no, it's for those who i may end up imposing upon. also, if you're early, you can help others who are late! i love helping others =)
- begin with the end in mind (S. Covey, 1989:95-144); the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step: and that step is to plan ahead - you'd try not to take the first step in the wrong direction. know what is going on, which stage you're at, what your mental state is in, and whether you REALLY need an extension of deadline.
- keep praying. even a rosary would at most take 15min. no earthly pursuit should steal away your time with God - who is the ultimate reason for all your exertions. when things seem tough, the devil has an easier job of tempting us - and all the more do we need divine intervention.
better late than never. it is better to be late so you can learn a lesson forever.
