"I am making this study an exploratory journey toward the development of my self-identity as a culture teacher in a Chinese-as-a-foreign-language classroom. It is a process of searching for the meaning of my being in my classroom as microcosm of contemporary world..."
I spent one year and a half to figure out this very first sentence in my proposal. I don't know why it took such a long time, but now I know that the time spent is worthwhile. I was once so panic about the slow progress I have ever made, but now I know that all the sufferings I have experienced will be paid off. Finally I could start to write my dissertation. Yes, of course, this feeling of readiness is also temporary. I could go backward; I may have to re-read, rewrite, and revise and blah, blah, blah. But now I know that is how dissertation will be written, how knowledge is built, and how meaning is constructed... Yes, I have to be patient, be patient...
