Now that I’ve been accepted onto the course, the process of preparing myself begins. Somehow I feel that this journey must be in the form of a story, a narrative that speaks of change, of growth, of development.

Like most people, I have many thoughts that appear well-formulated and intelligent. Yet when I try to put them into words, the result can only be described as a mess. When I teach I describe the steps in writing. But when I write (such short posts like this for example) I forego all of that and just launch headlong into what becomes an ironically unfinished product. Ironic because it gets published as if it were finished.

A doctoral dissertation needs to be a polished document. It needs to exude intelligence, style and worthy content. It also has to be clear. And clarity doesn’t come easily to me. The sensation of having a rounded thought feels complete, but in essence, I’m wallowing in a certain lack of detail, a bird’s eye-view, a vagueness of completion. Here’s to hoping that this blog is my whetstone that helps me sharpen my writing skills.

I also wonder if I shouldn’t (re-)focus the content to reflect the interests of a reader rather than just spout out my own thoughts. Then again, to some extent this is a diary. But if I maintained that attitude, there’d be no point in publishing the content.