Thesis DONE (sort of)

Today I turned in my second master's thesis (the first one was for my M.A. from Arcadia University). Very exciting and simultaneously very anti-climatic. It is 107 pages plus another 10 or so of bibliography and prefatory pages. Basically I killed many trees printing out the three copies that the school requires. The topic, surprise surprise, was post-conflict Northern Ireland, examining the factors that have led to a marginally successful post-conflict state. It has pretty much consumed my life for the past year and now it is finally all researched, written and ready to defend. (I won't actually be done until I have defended my thesis in front of a panel of 3 professors, including my advisor, and make any edits or changes they require in order to pass.)

With my thesis turned in I am starting to think about the final few months in Paris and the next steps in my life. I graduate from AGS on June 17th and fly back to the States on the 19th. In between now and then I have two major trips planned, one to the United Kingdom (England and Scotland) with three friends from Holy Cross, followed by a week in Ireland with some friends from AGS. Both of these trips are taking place in my two-week spring break. I am ready to spend some quality time with friends, visit new places, drink some great beer and not have to think 'how do I say that in French?' every 5 seconds. I am also hoping to make a quick trip to Amsterdam at some point as it is the only city left on my list of places to visit before leaving Europe. I have seen a great deal of Europe between my two adventures living on this continent and I will be pretty satisfied with my travels regardless but really want to see Amsterdam (not to say I won't be coming back and traveling some more, because I will).

Aside from traveling, I plan on spending the next few months enjoying a Parisian spring - which involves spending copious amounts of time in the numerous parks scattered throughout the city, finishing up my studies (I do still have 2 classes and my thesis defense to complete), and hosting a few visitors. After that I am back in the States and this chapter of my life is over. Part of me is very sad to see this adventure come to end, and another part of me is ecstatic to be coming home and starting a new chapter. This summer I will be back at Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine, once again working with the adult participants in the Seeds Program. After August I am not really sure where I will be or what I will be doing. I am currently looking for jobs, really hoping to find one in NYC or Boston, but am also considering DC, Chicago and San Francisco - all cities that have job opportunities in international relations. It is pretty unnatural for me not to have the next 3 steps of my life planned out in advance, so I am trying to embrace this ambiguity and uncertainty and treat it as an adventure instead of a reason to panic. So far this strategy is working, I am enjoying my last days in the Parisian sun and leaving the future to tomorrow, after all I finished my thesis today.

spring flowers in Paris view of Paris from Pont des Arts