It’s that time of year again. The beginning of the end. Poster time.
It is kind of strange to think that this is the last poster I will make as an undergraduate at Lewis & Clark. This will also be the most difficult poster I have ever made at Lewis & Clark. How exactly I am going to fit a 50 page paper on a 32 by 40 in poster board is currently unbeknownst to me. I have decided on one thing though, no matter what it says, it’s gonna look pretty. That’s for sure.
Making this poster will really help me to synthesize my paper which is good for two main reasons. First, I don’t have an abstract yet and I’m thinking that I probably need one of those. Second, on Monday the 13th I have my thesis defense. I have to give a 15 minute presentation to my thesis honors committee and then answer any questions that they have for me. This is probably the first time in my life that I have been afraid to make a powerpoint. I think most of my nervousness stems from a fear of not having anything to say that I feel confident enough to stand by. I’ve done quite a bit of work and come up with more than a few ideas, many of which never made it into my current thesis draft. Even though I am repeatedly referred to as “more informed than they are” by people who I ask for advice, I still don’t feel that I am in many ways. How can I stand up in front of a professor of philosophy and talk about objectivity? Or a professor of sociology and talk about Marx and Weber? Or a professor of environmental studies and talk about…anything?
I think I just have to keep reminding myself that my ideas are valid and I’ve done an at least okay job at laying them out and defending them. If I get asked questions that I don’t know the answers to I would rather admit that then fumble a response. If concerns are raised that I agree with I will not hide that I also see shortcomings.
Other than that, all I can do is cross my fingers at all times and sleep with a copy of my thesis under my pillow for the next 5 nights.
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