And just like that, my last year in grad school comes to a close. I recently defended my dissertation, bringing me ever closer to that elusive Ph.D. degree that I have been chasing down for the last several years. I have yet to submit the final version of my dissertation to the University, but I will have that done in the next week or so.

The end of this journey has brought about a barrage of emotions. There was a sigh of relief after I finished. A feeling of amazement as I still cannot believe that I had finally arrived at this point which at times I thought would never come. More than once I have woken up and thought, “I’m a PhD???”

I am overwhelmed with gratitude to many, as I would not be here without many individuals who supported me so well over the last several years. There is also a feeling of anxiety and excitement as I don’t know what the future holds for me after I finish up the summer. The search is on for the next step in me and my family’s life. It’s been an adventure, and yet, the adventure continues.

And so with that, I am also making the decision to end this blog. I started this blog on the first day of grad school through my now defunct Blogger site, and later transitioned to using this personal site which I built and designed using the open source Joomla! software. So this blog marks a season in my life which I have been happy to share with you, the readers. Thanks for keeping up with me, many of you not just online, but in person as well. Though I may not blog here anymore, I hope to continue to keep up with you in other ways in the future.

Kindest regards,
Jimmy