Jessica Harker, MS

I PASSED MY THESIS DEFENSE!!!

Now to take over the world!!! Muahahaha!!! Just kidding!

Today, is a great day! I survived a 48 minute presentation and approximately 3 hours of questions from my committee. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure I took my pulmonary drug delivery exam in record time. I just hope I passed that too. Mental note: Never schedule a defense on a day you have an exam.

This weekend starts the whirlwind traveling that will take place for the next 5 weekends! Yay! For grad school interviews and school visits! I fly out to Boston tomorrow morning nice and early! Now it's time for some celebratory ice cream, a nap, and some positive reinforcement (aka I'm going to buy a new book!)!!!

Does anyone have a paper bag?

I found myself having a panic attack this afternoon.
As of Monday, I finished my thesis. No more corrections. It is ready. I also have my oral presentation finished and ready to go. You're probably thinking, why are you panicking? Don't you have like a month and a half until you defend? Not anymore. My advisor and I made the decision to move up my defense... to a week from today. That's right. I'm defending my thesis next Thursday at 12:30pm. I think I'm going to throw up...
What was I thinking?!? Why didn't I wait until April? Can I change my mind? Unfortunately, the only answers to these questions are: No, I don't know, and No.
And being the dumb person that I am, I scheduled my defense right before my first module exam in my drug delivery class. All I can say is that come 5pm next Thursday, I'm going to eat a whole carton of ice cream for dinner.

Best advice I've ever received from my friend, Jeanette. If she can get her PhD with 5 kids under the age of 5, I think I can get mine as a single person.

Hopefully it is in celebratory way and not in a self-medicating sort of way. I'm hoping for celebratory because not passing my thesis would be a terrible way to start my round of interviews/campus visits for my PhD school... And I want to be happy when I visit Boston for the first time!
So everyone, would you kindly remember me in your prayers? I need all the help I can get this next week.