I’m nearly finished with my course for this half of the term, with just a paper to write this weekend and one last seminar on Tuesday afternoon. After that, I can focus on my thesis, which is starting to take shape (if only in my head, and not quite on paper yet). I’ve got a good amount of material to work with, and next week I’m going to spend a day on a guided tour around the parish I’m studying, which I’m sure will give me even more. I’m certain there are days of doubt and despair ahead of me before it’s all said and done, but right now I’m still feeling confident and excited about the project.

I do have one more course to complete, but that one will be immediately useful and an important part of my thesis work. It’s a class on reading early modern handwriting, and I’m looking forward to learning more. As it is now, I’m able to read only a small part of the source material I’m looking at, and this course should help immeasurably. If I’d been smart, I’d have taken it last fall, but I was new to this whole game and didn’t want to add another class to my schedule. Rookie mistake.