The MA Journey Concludes

Last week, August 29th I made a trip to Cork to submit the MA thesis I have been working on all this summer. First and foremost I had to have it printed and bound. A simple process really; after handing the friendly staff member at the printing shop my USB stick I waited for half an hour at a nearby café with a hot chocolate and a book I had purchased at my favourite book shop on the way. It seemed fitting that my time at UCC should come to an end after doing something I have been doing either on my own or with friends for the past 4 years. Along with 2 degrees in Literature I also learned the locations of some of the best coffee shops in the city during my time as a student.

There it was in my hands after 9 months of reading and study and then 3 months of writing and editing, over 15000 words. My MA thesis: “The Cracked Looking Glass and the Leaks: Comparing the works of James Joyce and Kurt Vonnegut”. I have been writing this blog since beginning the thesis, yet I have never discussed the contents in-depth (partly because I don’t like giving away spoilers) but essentially what I was writing about was how these two writers similarly make use of recurring characters in their works, who act as stand-ins or avatars for themselves, thus presenting the opportunity to reflect on the nature of art and what it means to be an artist. There is of course more to it than can be summed up in 2 or 3 lines but again I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone. With the two required copies printed and bound nicely (along with a third copy for myself as a keepsake) I made my way to the UCC English department for possibly my last submission.

The last 12 months have been a unique experience, an opportunity I felt more than grateful to have. I have made new friends, some from as far away as the United States and grown as a scholar, a writer and as a person. In the last week I have been taking some time off to rest and make a start on the pile of leisure reading I have been accumulating for months now (finished a degree and a Masters in Literature and I am most excited about doing more reading, yep!). It is a strange feeling that it is now September and for the first time in 19 years I don’t have a place to be or classes to choose, but I am happy to say that I do have a plan for the future. I am going to start looking for a job and then spend the next year or so working so I can save up money to begin the next step of my academic journey, the big one, the PhD! There were times, even this year when I felt I wouldn’t go any further after I finished my MA, but writing my thesis, creating an original piece of scholarly work reconfirmed my long standing ambition. Someday I hope to be Dr Darragh.

This blog has chronicled my summer-long journey, from writing the earliest pages of my thesis to now when it has been exactly a week since I submitted it. It is an enjoyable hobby and has allowed me to use a skill I acquired during the MA experience and improve upon it. I will continue writing it as I begin this whole new chapter in my life. I am still a scholar and hope you will continue to read and enjoy what I write here in my Scholar’s Notebook.

Featured image: The front cover of my MA thesis.