A Love Letter to my Dissertation

Dear Dissertation-

I wanted to write a letter to you to let you know that I still love you. I feel like we’ve been drifting as of late, and I wanted to reaffirm our commitment.

We’ve been courting for a long time. Three years ago, when we started flirting, I didn’t have an idea as to where our relationship would take us. I knew a little bit about you, but it still wasn’t clear. Through learning together and researching each other, however, I feel like we’ve come to a good place. Our relationship is clearer in my mind now than it has ever been.

It hasn’t always been easy. I’ve learned to embrace the fact that you have overbearing parents. They will occasionally ask us to revise and resubmit our relationship for their approval, but I’ve learned that this will only make us stronger. It’s tough hearing feedback on something you hold so dear, but in the end we’ll hopefully arrive at a love we want to scream from the rooftops and publish everywhere.

I know I will ultimately need to ask your parents for your hand in marriage. I know I will still need to gain their approval before we reach our next step. But between then and now, there is still so much work to do. I get scared. Sometimes friends ask me how our relationship is and I just don’t’ want to talk about it. Part of it is out of embarrassment that perhaps we’re moving too slowly and the other part is perhaps our relationship needs more work.  I know these feelings are normal, but it doesn’t make them feel any different.

So I want to apologize for my shortcomings and let you know I’m still committed. We can do this! Perhaps if we commit to spending an hour together each day, we can work through these issues.  Bit by bit we’ll make this relationship work.  I don’t want you to think I have cold feet.  I don’t want to be like those other couples that stay engaged for years without ever actually getting married.  People refer to our relationship as an “all but…” but I like to think of it as an “all and…”  With this letter, I want to reaffirm my commitment to marrying you next year.  It will happen.  You’re a beautiful groom.

My dearest dissertation, our relationship is complicated, but please understand that our love, and my commitment to that love, is steadfast.

Sincerely,

Your Author