Recently I celebrated my birthday. I feel like I have been counting down to this celebration like I did when I turned 21. Instead of gaining access to libations and a new ID card, making it to April 5th this year meant I could get back to blogging.
For the last year I have been giving every moment and energy to my dissertation. A mixed methodology research on college student leaders’ use of & experiences with social media. Painstakingly going through questionnaires – focus groups – social media analysis – rubric statistical analysis – matrix analysis and now finally coming out eight months later with nearly 500 pages. And no time for blogging.
I’ll save future posts with results from a number of research projects and discoveries I’ve had over the last year – saving today with a big wave and a digital hug – I’m back!
This was the first birthday in my lifetime that also fell on Easter. I remember as a young child looking through the church liturgy book and finding this very date. April 5th, 2015 I thought – “I’ll be so old!!”
I wondered what I would be doing, who I would become. The photo below is from my birthday, April 5th, 1987. Training wheel rocking my Heather banana seat bike. Just riding through my neighborhood felt like an adventure.
Adventure has abound my life. Now 34 I’m about to move in a new home, defend my dissertation and become a doctor. I like to think that I’m not old and that my child-self wondering about my future would be impressed. While a lot of what I have been working on is finally wrapping up, it also feels like everything is just beginning.
So whether you have been following my adventures since I started blogging two years ago, knew me since I was a youngster or just learning about me today. This birthday celebration gets me back to blogging and the beginning of what will be for Dr. Josie Ahlquist.
Follow along on this beginning!
April 10th: Turn in full dissertation to committee
April 19th: Move to new home
April 22nd: Dissertation defense
May 15th: Graduation ceremony at California Lutheran University
Check out my previous birthday posts below!
