I sit for the first question of my comprehensive exams tomorrow, and I already am imagining life after generals. I’ve spent so much time preparing for the exams that I’ve only partially participated in so many of the activities that make me, well, me.

Here are 10 things (in no particular order) that I can’t wait to do after general exams:

1. Attend all of my daughter’s sporting events. My daughter plays basketball and soccer, but I’ve had to pick and choose which games to attend during the last couple of seasons because I needed the quiet time to study. She’s been really understanding, but I hate not supporting her as much as I want. I look forward to seeing her play more.
2. Read books for pleasure. I love to read. I’ve enjoyed (no, seriously, I have) the reading I’ve done for comps, but I’m ready to read something just for the pleasure of reading. This desire to read has been compounded by the cold. I just want to curl up with a mug of hot tea and a good book.
3. “Go” on date nights with my hubby. Jeff and I just like hanging out with each other. I put “go” in parentheses because one of our favorite “date nights” is sitting at home in our comfy clothes watching a movie or something we like on TV. However, we like to actually go places as well. I’m ready to get back in this routine.
4. Shop. Shopping really is a hobby for me. I enjoying stopping by TJ Maxx once a week (or so) to scout for new things. The seasons also have changed while I’ve been hardcore studying. My wardrobe is begging me to spend some time at the mall.
5. Take my kids to the movies. I love spending time with my kids at the movies. It’s just something we enjoy doing together. We’ve been waiting for months to see MegaMind. I can’t wait to take them.
6. Drink wine. I enjoy a glass of wine in the evening. However, studying complex material means you must have a clear head. I’ve been missing my occasional glass of wine.
7. Have a conversation without citing relevant points. Yes, this actually is happening. I was talking on the phone to my sister-in-law about workplace concerns and citing organizational literature in my head throughout the conversation. This is not normal. I need to dump it out on paper so I can compartmentalize it in the section of my brain where it belongs.
8. Work on my research. I have been working on a study while preparing for comps, but I’m ready to finish it up and get started on my dissertation. The research and writing seem to me like the fun reward for surviving the testing.
9. Paint the bathroom. I’ve been putting off painting the bathroom for more than a year. I even have the paint. This undone task has been driving me crazy. Of course, it’s probably just because I was trying to give myself an excuse to procrastinate from studying. It’ll probably stay undone after comps.
10. Blog. I love writing. It is my creative release, my passion and my God-given talent. I can’t wait to free up a bit of time so I can further develop my blogs and spend more time actually posting on them. Hopefully you all can handle that as well.

I almost named this blog post “You’re doing what?” The original name made a lot of sense because many of my family members and friends really don’t understand what I’m doing academically at this point.

Then I realized that inquiring what I’m doing is the nice, second part of their questioning. The first part is always “When will you be done?”

I’m sure it seems to all of my friends and family members like I’ve been going to school forever. It definitely seems that way to me some days.

The truth is I have been going to school forever. I started pre-school when I was 3. God willing, I will be 34 when I finish my doctoral degree. I don’t think I’ve ever been out of school for longer than a semester during that entire time. That’s a lot of school by anyone’s standards.

The next big step in my Ph.D. begins Nov. 17. This is when I sit for my first comprehensive (aka: “general”) exam.

The way generals work at OU, each of my five committee members (professors who agreed to guide me through this process) writes a question. Each question is based on an area of expertise that committee member has shared with me through coursework. My questions will be about: privacy law, traumatic emotional stress, global media systems, media ethics, and organizational/media theory. The questions also are likely to test my knowledge of how to format research studies.

I received a reading list from each committee member to help me prepare to answer his question (Yes, my committee members are all men.). The reading lists ranged from one that included about 12 readings (books and academic articles) to ones that were pages long. Overall, I will have read well more than 100 pieces of academic writing to prepare for the exams. I received my first reading list in May. I received my final readings last week.

But it’s not just about reading. As one committee member explained to me, I must really understand, remember and be able to apply what I have read. I also need to be able to cite academically the source of the information I’m providing on my exams. So, to help this occur, my process goes like this:

• First, I made a master “to do” list of all of my reading. Then, I promptly had a panic attack.
• Once my panic attack was complete, I moved to the second step, which is reading all of the assigned pieces, highlighting important portions along the way.
• Third, I create an outline (mine are in the form of electronic slides so I can use them for class later if I want) of each piece I read.
• Finally, I mark that reading off of my master list and move on to the next one.

This portion of the process is not yet done. That means I’m in major stress mode to reach my goal of having read all of the materials by Nov. 1. I set this deadline to give allow time to review each subject’s slides day-by-day leading up to the exams.

Beginning Nov. 17, I will answer one question each day. I have four hours to answer each question. It’s just me, in a room with a computer (no Internet access or notes) and whatever knowledge is in my brain.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a terrible test taker. I get really nervous, sometimes even physically ill. Pray for me.

Once the exams are complete, I will orally defend my answers to my committee members. This means they will ask me questions (as a group) about my answers and I will explain and/or elaborate on my thinking. My oral defense will be the week after Thanksgiving. This too makes me pretty nervous. Again, prayer is helpful.

Once this hurdle is jumped, I will begin my dissertation. This, in my mind, is the fun part. Quite simply, it’s the writing.

The process of having a proposal approved, collecting the data, analyzing the data, and writing the study is expected to take a year. That means by this time next year I will be preparing for the oral defense of my dissertation. When that is complete, I will be done.

So, the short answer to “when will you be done” is in one year.

Now why am I doing this? Well, that’s another blog post all together.