I present my thesis to the English department a week from today and never before has my life been shaped by something so thoroughly. The lack of sleep and mainlined caffeine makes puts someone on edge. All to hit a deadline I knew was coming but somehow still feel unprepared for. Probably a little bit because I am.

I spend a majority of my time crying in a corner (not really) and the rest of the time pouring over relevant books and online sources that are helping me research my project. What is my project you may be asking? Well, it is not some life changing or world altering researching. However, I am tackling literary works that have a close spot to my heart: Game of Thrones.

I am sure you have heard the name Game of Thrones whether or not you are a fan of the HBO TV series. Unless you have completely unplugged from the internet, do not have cable (which is more believable) or simply choose to close your ears and eyes to this recent pop-culture eruption. This series is not the work I am directly focusing on, though. It is in fact on the books that spawned the series. The stories that started the hit production and gained a tremendous fan following all over the world. A series that is called A Song of Ice and Fire. Pretty awesome name, right? Right.

I won't pain you with the specific of my project because that pain is inflicted upon my department, but rest assured its pretty radical. Sorta maybe kinda. There are a few things that I learned throughout this ongoing experience that are pretty nifty though.

For instance, my library can request books from other libraries in the general mid-west region! For free! I know this probably doesn't excite the half of you, but it's pretty awesome to me. A lot of the books I needed for research NDSU didn't have, but across town they do. Maybe a couple hundred miles away. A shout out to the library for enabling my project to happen.

Also, having a mentor to walk me through my project and help me along has been an amazing boon. I wish they would have given me a true mentor throughout my entire college career. They always say "talk to your teachers" or "see them during office hours" but I was rarely ever doing that. I was largely under the mindset that if I didn't need too, or wasn't forced to, it ain't going to happen. However, being forced to work with a mentor is most likely my only saving grace this semester. Impossible to procrastinate when procrastination means not getting your degree.

Did I mention the lack of sleep?