My Dissertation Story

Hi my lil' fairies

Hasn't it been a long time since I've spoken to you lovely people? Well my title can probably tell you why. I am in my third year of university and the last few months have consisted of research and writing my dissertation. However, after a solid 7 months, I finally handed my dissertation in on Monday and I can't tell you how much of a weight has been lifted off me. It's almost like this 10, 966 words (I know, I cut it very finely on the word count) have become part of me, mainly because I have invested so much time and effort into it.

Before I even started to stress about writing it, I had to come up with an idea for it. I chose my overall topic the year before and this meant that I had to pick within the topic, but it didn't mean restrictions - it was the opposite for me. I picked the cultural revolution in Germany and Britain and this gave me endless possibilities. Initially, I chose to do Britain because I thought that my lack of German would be an issue, so I picked music because it's something I love. However, I kept coming to dead ends because, no matter how much I love it, it just wasn't possible to write about because I couldn't find enough sources. So, after a lot of failed attempts, I went back to what I loved: East German history. After I decided on my topic, I had to narrow it down to make a question that could be the basis of the dissertation. The portrayal of East Germany in cinema had been done before and was basically the whole basis of the historiography, so I had to think differently and a lot more specifically. Although it took a lot of research, I found that there were a lot of films on the Stasi and also that there were fictional TV series' and books on the same topic. It meant that I was being specific but different to the current research. 

Then, it was the hard job of trying to find the primary sources because, unlike doing something British, I couldn't just pop to the local library or place that sells DVDs to find the films and books I needed with subtitles. However, after a lot of research, I finally found the Goethe Institute in West Kensington that had all the films and books I needed and, surprisingly, Netflix and 4oD even had a few options for me. After coming up with my list, I spent the next few months watching film after film after series after book. Sometimes I doubted whether I could do it, because my sources would've been a lot longer and more time consuming than others, but it was worth it. I got some experience with foreign film and actually enjoyed some of the sources like the Netflix series The Same Sky. 

Then, it was the time to actually start writing the 10,000 words and it seemed so daunting that I didn't think I could do it. But, slowly, and with a lot of musical inspiration, I got the words written and just spurted out whatever came into my head - which was great, until I had to read back over it and check for spelling and grammar issues. But, over 6 months and hundreds of reads later, I finally got it done and was ready to get it bounded like a proper academic before giving in to the History Office and being greeted by one of the staff congratulating me on getting it.

Before I end this long but rewarding story, I have to give a shout out to my mum who literally read the whole 10, 966 words like 5 times. I couldn't have imagined doing it for someone else but she had the patience and energy to take it all seriously and genuinely take an interest in what I was writing.

So, the final essay of my time at university is finally done and, even though it's been some of the hardest few months, I feel really proud and accomplished for having written something as big and research heavy as this!

So, with less than a month left before I officially finish university, and this blog can actually go back to being a main priority, I just have to work my socks off and hope all this hard work pays off!

That's all for now my dears

xx