Walking on sunshine

Allie: "This is not a thesis."
Rebecca: "You keep leaning toward dissertation length!"
Andrew: "You might be done by December!"

So I officially chose a primary thesis reader today, and I'm so thrilled. Andrew is one of the most genuinely kind, encouraging, and intelligent people I have ever met. Today when I was feeling him out on whether he'd be able to take me on as an advisee, he was incredibly enthusiastic about it.

"You're a great grad student--you're one of the best grad students we've ever had!" he said. I was so stunned, and relieved, and humbled, and affirmed, that I actually almost cried, right there in his office. Thankfully I was able to pull it back together--hopefully before he noticed anything.

How close I actually come to being done in December will also depend, in part, on a meeting the art history faculty will be having tomorrow, in which they will discuss, among other things, thesis length. I'm not holding my breath for being done in December--but knowing Andrew believes I can do the thesis, and do it well, at any point in the near future, kept me floating through the afternoon.