Can someone please press that PLAY button!!!

Hello blog friends,

I am back, back, back. I can't believe this is my 4th year in the PhD program!!! Where has the time gone??? All i can say is thank God for his mercies. A lot has happened since the last time i posted in my blog. I passed my oral comps, i submitted by institutional review board (IRB) ethical application for my dissertation research, i did not get the fellowship i applied for (thank God), i traveled to Lagos to collect my dissertation data (which was an experience on its own), i submitted my 2 manuscripts to a journal (1 got published, while the other will be published as soon as i make the revisions the editors suggested). The journey to getting my papers published has been difficult, but thank God it eventually got published. After 2 rejections of sending it to the wrong journals, it was finally accepted in the right journal. One day i will blog on the following:

-journey to publishing my articles.

-the dissertation process, from ethical approvals to data collection

Sometimes in this PhD program, i feel as though my life is on pause (hold). Don't get me wrong, i am trying to live my life to the fullest, and i have to some extent. I got engaged/ married during the time. However, i feel as though i cannot wait for this season to come to an end, so i can move on with the rest of my life, like getting to live with my boo as married, getting pregnant & having a baby (lol- seriously though, this was prompted by some developments), getting a real J-O-B so i can stop living on a grad student stipend!

However, i will miss this student life. There are perks to it, like having a really flexible schedule, being able to travel free on school's money and having a safety net (your advisor plus you get a break 'cos people know you're still in training).

I would really love to graduate next year by God's grace, but my advisor wants me to go back to Lagos next year to collect follow up data for my dissertation. With the data i have now, that is more than enough for my dissertation. Most of my committee members (3/5) believe i have more than enough to graduate next year. The 4th person i don't know where he stands, my advisor wants me to do a 5th year. So now, i am praying and hoping for the best. It will not be a bad idea to have a follow up data collection, but where is the money coming from? Do i really need a follow up now, seeing that i can do that for a postdoc? So these are the things playing around in my mind and i am praying to God for favor and direction.

On another note, transcribing recorded interviews is so not fun! Time consuming and it's just a draggggggggg! So my goals for this semester are as follows:

1) Revise & resubmit my paper for publication

2)Finish transcriptions & data analysis

3) Prepare manuscript for publication for Lagos data

Till i come your way again, remain blessed.